


The Darkness Underneath

by Serrenedy



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Found Family, Gen, M/M, Multi, Not What It Looks Like, People Change People, lore heavy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:01:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 96,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22265284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serrenedy/pseuds/Serrenedy
Summary: When Mantle doesn't crumble as quickly as he'd like, Tyrian sets off to.... FIX the problem in much the same way he fixes everything. Instead of the quick fix he was hoping for, his impulse behavior causes him to set off a chain reaction of events Salem herself couldn't have anticipated.Orphans find familiesIronwood discovers a cult to Salem beneath his very noseJaune learns a well kept secretAnd Oscar discovers how to defeat the undefeatableOn Temporary Hiatus due to Schoolwork and the Writer being a fucking moron that bites off more than she can chew.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong/Yang Xiao Long, CFVY shop, Coco Adel/Fox Alistair/Yatsuhashi Daichi/Velvet Scarlatina, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Marrow Amin/Original Character (s), Oscar Pine/Salem, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Sunny Bees - Relationship, Tyrian Callows/Arthur Watts, Tyrian Callows/Original Character(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 66





	1. Impatience at all times

**Author's Note:**

> This all takes place sort of end of season 7 Ep 5. I’m just shoving about a six month gap there wherein the beginning of this fic takes place. Secondly, I had the stuff about Crucible thought up before we knew what Tyrian’s semblance was so it’s different here. Hope you like, though mostly written for the like, 3 people that care about this fic lolz.

Qrow sighed happily. His misfortune hadn’t brought down the mission in...a while. With a smile he turned his attention to who he believed the reason was. Clover was standing with one of the engineers, checking with her that all of the supplies had come in all right. It could have gone really sour with Roybn. But….it hadn’t. Good Fortune trumped  _ mis _ fortune it seemed. And the man it was connected too…. As if he  _ felt  _ himself being stared at, Clover turned from checking over the list, catching eyes with Qrow almost instantly and shooting him a blinding smile. The older man couldn’t help the blush that spread over his cheeks. His semblance chose  _ that _ moment to activate for him it seemed. Ruby and Penny had been off talking about a yard away but  **_suddenly_ ** they were paying attention to him. He knew due to the fact that they were  _ giggling  _ behind him. Damned kids. 

“Alrighty. That was the last run for the day right?” Clover’s eyes darted from the adorably flustered Qrow to the giggling pair behind him and put two and two together. He couldn’t help his own chuckle. 

“Yeah, now it’s just making sure they load out everything. You headed back early?” Clover knew fully about Qrow’s feathery secret. After all, the General had told him everything, including about Qrows ability to duck out of any situation he found even mildly uncomfortable. That man was gonna take a compliment or he’d die trying. He’d much rather die with a date or three under his belt. 

“I’m gonna go make sure the rest of the kids are alright. Broody and Pancake Queen won’t forget to eat on their own. But with Old School distracting them it’s a possibility. And he  _ definitely  _ went to join on Wall Duty after he got the kids back home safe. Doesn’t like his team out of his sight.” Clover nodded sadly, poor Nikos girl. She’d had  _ potential _ . 

“See ya after briefing” 

“It’s a date.”

“ _ Promise?” _ Qrow once again, went  _ bright red _ as Clover just smirked at him. Again, the girls broke into giggles, as did a few of the engineers that witnessed the shameless flirting. Qrow ducked his head and ran into the tunnels. A few moments later he flew out, a crow.

* * *

  
  


While it was the ‘new’ normal, it wasn’t supposed to go like this. This wasn’t normal, it was as abnormal as it could be. But it was what was happening. At least they’d lasted as long as they could. 

  
  


When the last kid was gently handed back to his mother, Jaune had to talk his way out of going home with one of the women for ‘milk and cookies’ and lady that was  _ barely  _ a euphemism and YOUR KID WAS RIGHT THERE!!!!! Women were crazy. Well, most women. Nora was…….women were crazy. With the last kid gone, Jaune checked his scroll for the time. Huh. He’d ended early. So based on their walking speed and the lack of alarms today…..Jaune turned on his heel and walked north for about ten minutes, then up the ladder. Sure enough, two minutes after he’d climbed up, Ren turned the corner, Nora playing with his hair. 

“What took ya guys so long?” Jaune asked with a grin. His corny joke was answered with a reluctant snort from Ren and a full laugh from Nora. 

“This coming from the same guy that had to chase us half the whole wall the other day!” She asked brightly. Jaune flushed as Ren chuckled.

“Why do you have to be  _ mean  _ about it? We were having a nice, normal conversation and you turned it into an attack.” His offence was false, but the chuckles from Ren were all real which is why they did it. Little did they know that in a few hours, laughs would be the last thing on their minds. 

“Look alive boys!” Ren and Jaune turned to look where Nora’s hammer was pointing. Black spots dotted the pure white expanse of Solitas. Grimm. The three hopped off the wall to take care of the problem before it actually became a  **problem** .

* * *

Dr. Arthur Watts looked on patiently as Tyrian angrily paced the interior of the small office space. 

“WHERE ARE THEY!” The Faunus screeched. And the good doctor bent his spine nearly in half to avoid the wildly swinging tail. 

“Tyrian, my work.” Somehow the quiet reminder worked to stop him, the lethal tail winding back around his waist, though his breathing was still heavy. “There are other options. They didn’t find the bodies, or it was no one important to anyone. It didn’t cause enough discontent-”

“It’s been a WEEK!!!!!” Tyrian’s tail didn’t come out, but he threw himself onto the wall, narrowly missing a computer in his dramatics. “I’ve killed nine people, all public dissenters of Ironwood ALL in very public places! Mantle should be collapsing under the weight of the Grimm trampling them.” He sank to the floor, arms circling himself. “What will the  _ Goddess _ say?” Arthur sighed but sank down to sit next to his companion and placed a hand on the unstable man’s shoulder. 

“Nine people in a week is very impressive. I’m sure the Queen would  _ still _ be pleased with your efforts.” The younger man just grumbled, sinking further into himself. Watts rolled his eyes. “Alright, once Grimm get into the city it causes a panic to attract even more. In which case, the problem is that no Grimm are managing to make it into the city proper. That gives the drone police ample time to move the bodies so that any  _ more  _ misfortune isn’t caused. Not to mention they are afforded the opportunity to label your lovely murders as simple missing persons. Get a single Grimm into the city and everything else will fall into place.” Tyrian looked up from his dramatic meltdown into the eyes of the hacker. 

“You're  _ right”  _ Arthur nodded, well used to the yo-yo that was Tyrian’s emotional state even on his  _ best _ days. It wasn’t his fault he was a ticking time bomb ...or maybe that was his libido talking. Watts had an unfortunate predisposition to anyone that was…..  _ Efficient.  _ Bonus points if they were also clever. While the logical parts of his brain tended to keep him far away from Tyrian… when they were working together it was…  _ difficult _ . The man handled his tasks with the beauty of a waltz. “What could be keeping Grimm out other than huntsmen?” Those  _ machines  _ aren’t effective. Even if they were he kept breaking them.“I’ll be right back. I’ve got to break something a bit more fun than a bot.” With a dark chuckle, the younger man got up. Watts went to man the camera systems so that Tyrian didn’t get himself caught in his misery. Though honestly, he needed to let him get caught. Tyrian needed to be a dumbass again so this stupidly persistent attraction would fade. 

* * *

Today was  _ BUSY _ ! It was a good thing Jaune had come to help. Four different Grimm attacks in the last two hours. And they all started around the time they were supposed to leave. It was really lucky they’d stopped paying attention to the time to flirt. Well…  _ Nora  _ was flirting. The boys were idiots that were pretending they weren't flirting but all of them were flirting. Not for the first time she missed Pyrrha. The other redhead wasn’t obvious enough for Jaune to catch it, but her face had matched her hair whenever Ren or Nora had flirted back. They were all just  _ waiting  _ for the blonde to get with the program. But now ...Nora sighed to herself. At least they were getting closer, even if the boys had both closed off a bit from her. All Well. She shook her head to clear the negative thoughts. They weren't welcome this far away from the wall. She wasn’t going to let her relationship drama get them killed.

  
  


“Well well  _ well”  _ The three turned to the voice, not instantly recognizing it. When they say the glint of the metal tail their hearts stopped in their chest. 

“Tyrian” The name escaped from Jaune’s mouth in horror. The Faunus in question had the  _ audacity  _ to wave at them as he sat cross legged on his own tail. 

“Aww, you remember me! I’m  _ touched _ ” And he got up then, his tail whipping in the air behind him, standing between them and the wall. “And to think, I thought it would be the  _ everyday _ sort of Hunters I got the opportunity to kill. But it’s the boring, the disappointment, and the  _ interesting.”  _ He was grinning madly as he slowly started to walk over to them. Ren, Nora, and Jaune all gripped their weapons...and took a few small steps closer to each other. There was no way they’d come out of this alive Tyrian was sure. They even  _ looked  _ terrified. No doubt they remembered the fight with Qrow, an  _ actual  _ huntsman. But by the weapons, they were going to try. Oh  _ fun _ playing with your victims was so much better than when they accepted the inevitable. 

Tyrian started with a sprint at Ren. Jaune’s shield slid between the boys and his blades but Nora’s attack from the back was blocked by the tail. Even though she’d tried to take advantage of his distraction. 

“NORA! POWER HOUR” She nodded, trusting her leader and Tyrian turned as if to watch her. Jaune and Ren tried to take this moment to attack him, but they were blocked by his tail and remaining blade respectively. Nora ran on his right a decent distance away to let out ‘Power hour’ One Grenade shot from the right, then she ran and shot another from behind before sprinting again and firing a volley from the left. It was supposed to be used for really big Grimm, especially when her team was trapped. Jaune could shake it off, but Ren’s aura shimmered from being near the blast range. Unfortunately, he was the only one. 

Rather than  _ phase _ him, Tyrian’s tail absorbed the blow. It seemed even stronger this time, impressive since  _ last  _ time it had taken a direct  **_lightning powered_ ** hit from Nora without a flinch.

Jaune was blocking both himself and Ren from both the blade pushing down the shield and the bladed punches going above the shield. Nora, on the other hand, fell back again. Any more grenades would really hurt Ren. Back to good old fashioned swinging to try and get past the tail so that she could deliver a direct hit to his spine. It just wasn’t **_working_**. It was like he could read her mind or something, blocking every blow.  
“Come now Children, at least don’t make me _bored_.” As he spoke his tail deflected another strike to wrap around her waist and toss her away. _That_ sparked movement. With a shout Jaune and Ren’s combined strength pushed Tyrian away for a second. While he was off balance both boys swung. Jaune high and from the right, Ren low and from the left. Unfortunately, both hits were blocked by blades. With Nora running to get back to the boys the tail was free to slash. As Jaune still had his shield, Tyrian’s tail stuck _left_ , grazing Ren. Pink Aura flared up to try and fix the wound, but the problem was the quickly acting poison. Still, he stayed standing, hands on his weapons. Good kid. “Ohhhh, looks like one down.” 

“I’m  _ fine”  _ Ren snarled. “You  **_Won’t_ ** be” And with that both Ren and Jaune tossed themselves away from Tyrian. The tail had been occupied with distributing poison, so Nora was able to jump on him and land that coveted direct hit to his spine! He let out a sound of pain as his legs buckled and a purple aura shimmered to try and heal the bruising she’d definitely given him. He tossed his back forward to send her tumbling onto the ground in front of him where he could  _ see  _ her. 

“Congratulations Madame.” He gave a few slow claps as he stood back up. “I underestimated you. I won’t do  _ that  _ again.” Without being held by the shield he had the free range of movement once again. They all remembered just how  _ dangerous  _ he was while moving. 

He ran at Ren, causing both Nora and Jaune to try and stop him, but he kicked Nora back and threw Ren  _ into _ Jaune. The force caused the two to skid backwards. Ren was breathing hard as he stood up. Tyrian ran and, as predicted, Jaune rushed to try and protect the woozy Ren. The sword went up and Tyrian attacked with his tail. 

Jaune was so busy trying not to get  **_stabbed_ ** that he’d forgotten the tail could wrap around things. His arm was pulled out and Tyrian dealt a  _ devastating  _ blow. Even though his Aura stopped it from getting hurt, he knew that it would have easily severed his arm. Tyrian for his part, looked a bit confused at why it  _ hadn’t  _ broken through the aura _.  _ The hit was certainly hard enough to disable someone’s aura. He didn’t have too much time to think on it. 

“HOP!” Jaune angled the shield behind him so that Ren could use it as a springboard. Stormflower’s new cables went out to land on either side of Tyrian, letting him come down with his foot extended for a kick to the face. Jaune swung his shield itself to try and hit Tyrian. The double attack may have worked on someone else. Quick as a flash, Tyrian was on his shoulders. Jaune’s  _ other  _ arm almost shattered with the force of the kick that sent his shield flying, his aura flaring up and flagging. Ren got a kick to the stomach for his troubles. He landed a bit aways, rolled over and groaned...then didn’t get back up. 

“NO!!!” He’d already lost Pyrrha to Cinder! He WASN’T Gonna let Tyrian take another one! Tyrian for his part, was _ tickled _ as Jaune forgot half of his training in his emotional state, rushing him and swinging wildly. “NORA TAKE REN AND GET HIM HELP!!!!” Nora skidded to a halt, picking up the unresponsive boy.That last attack had taken what was left out of him. 

“Hmmmm. Who’s going to help  _ you, I _ wonder?” Every swing from Jaune was dodged with the barest tilt of Tyrian’s hips. 

Nora was frozen in fear. Getting Ren to help meant that Jaune would  **_definitely_ ** die. But his poison acted fast. Qrow had lasted a few days but he hadn’t been pushing through it to fight so who knew how much faster it was working on Ren. Shit. Had to make a decision. Had to get Ren somewhere she could put him down in order to help Jaune with-

“Bored now” The tail shot out. Since there was no shield there was no help and rather than graze, this was a  **_stab._ ** Jaune lost his breath as his lower abdomen was pierced. He looked down at the blood staining his once black shirt.Tyrian  _ rotated  _ his tail in Jaune’s gut, prompting a shout as the blonde coughed up blood. Tyrian smirked as he removed his tail from Jaune, causing him to drop to his knees. Then he set his sights on Nora, who was in a much worse position. Tyrian walked forward a bit, tail waving as he stood directly between her and Jaune, and he was  _ still  _ between her and the wall. 

“Wh-what do you want!?” she demanded, half shaking as the grinning male came closer to her. 

“Well I  _ wanted  _ to let the Grimm run free on the city. But they never made it in. A few persistently annoying Huntsmen kept stopping them. So….I had to kill them, well, you. Pity.You actually landed a pretty good hit. I wouldn’t have minded fighting you again. But the fact remains. You three have to die now. Ta Ta” He’d barely gotten out the patronizing goodbye before Nora was  **_ON_ ** him. Again, each hit was dodged by a swivel of his hips or his tail. “Now you’re just  _ embarrassing  _ yourself. Look, I’m in a good mood. Stand down and I’ll even make it quick.” That earned him a snarl of rage as her hammer never once faltered. He smirked. He wasn’t  _ planning  _ on making it quick for her anyway. Actually, he’d have made her suffer more if she decided to give up. 

“NORA VALKYRIE DOESN’T SURRENDER! ESPECIALLY TO THE LIKES OF  **_YOU_ ** ” His face changed then, hardening into something  _ deadly  _ serious. Rather than dodge the next hit, he caught it between his blades. She adjusted her stance to try and rip her only defense back, but his tail was faster, winding around her waist as the stinger jerked up to just barely  _ press _ into her jugular. Golden eyes took stock of the hammer as he twisted his blade and took the weapon with him. His grin was pure madness. 

“New deal. One time offer.” As he spoke his tail started to  _ squeeze _ choking her as well as threatening her. “You willingly come with me and I let both your little friends  _ live.  _ Or I kill them like I was planning to, poison you and  _ drag  _ you with me.” Nora gasped, tears in her eyes. Tyrian blinked at her, then narrowed his eyes, looking directly into her own wide ones. His free hand let loose a barrage of shoots directly behind him. The shots were too close after one another to dodge and quickly wore down his aura to the point that three shots hit Qrow’s upper back and were stopped by Jaune’s armor. Two of them went through Qrow’s lower back to hit the already injured Jaune. “Correction. I let your  _ three _ friends live.” She stared transfixed. “Free bit of advice, maybe don’t stare at your secret backup when it arrives. Your eyes hold reflections.”


	2. Taken

Nora walked behind the psychopath with unsteady steps. She and Qrow held between then a Jaune that was going to get  _ far _ worse before he got better. They’d been walking for almost ten minutes out into the endless expanse of the tundra of Solitas. No matter how many years had passed from her first doing this, she’d have preferred another hundred before having to do it again. Especially in these circumstances, with Ren coiled up in the tail of that  _ thing _ , shuddering slightly from the cold. At least he seemed weirdly honest. He hadn’t even gloated more on the way back, just kept a firm grip on both Ren and Magnhild. He was really interested in it, in fact, he’d seen something on it that made a creepy smile split across his face. If he gave her Ren they’d all be able to make a break for it. She’d get a new weapon. But no, that  _ death tail _ kept a firm grip on him. 

“No no” Tyrian spoke into a communication device of sorts. It looked like an earring. “I’ll be back  _ soon _ I just...Just need to run home for a bit…. I’ve got to…  _ drop off a  _ **_package_ ** .” He frowned at something whoever was on the other end had said, then “NO NOT THAT TYPE OF-Why do you think I would honestly go run to do that in the middle of something this important!... And this fun.  _ You’d _ get that package since you’re closer!” Another pause “Yes I’ll tell her you said hello.” He sounded almost disappointed by that. “Well what if she likes you more? ….. Oh that’s true, she’ll never like  **_you_ ** more.” He laughed sharply as they seemed to reach their destination. Nora froze as they reached the enormous Sphinx. The Grimm swiveled its large head to the group and snarled. While Nora stepped back, Tyrian was completely unconcerned and strangely, the Grimm let him on. 

“You’ve  _ got  _ to be kidding me.” He turns then, slightly manic grin spreading over his face. He waves his tail and by extension, Ren. 

“Well you don’t _ have to _ , but I’m taking him with me either way to do...Well, whatever I want really, and there’s _ no way _ you’ll all get back to Mantle in time with those wounds and this cold. Not by yourself at least. And here I thought you’d want to give him a fighting chance. After all, you all fought so  _ valiantly  _ to try and survive me.” He shrugged. “Oh well. I guess if you-”

“MOVE” He chuckled, but slid forward. Qrow went up first, handing Jaune to Nora for a second before she handed him back and climbed up herself. 

“I suggest you keep pressure on his wound. Otherwise he’ll bleed out long before we can get to the woman that can fix him.” Tyrian’s voice was  _ unbearably  _ smug. Qrow brought Jaune up to lean on the Fanus’ back so that he could hold one hand on the kid’s wound and use the other to brace himself. Luckily Nora was able to brace herself with both hands and use her body to keep the others from sliding backward. “Is everyone holding on?” Tyrian asked, he himself wasn’t holding on. He was waving Ren around like a treat to train them into obeying and still held Nora’s hammer as he leaned up to the ear of the Grimm. “Could you take us home for a quick bit. I’m coming right back I swear.” The creature huffed, but opened its wings, shooting directly into the air. Nora’s thunder thighs came through in the clutch, squeezing the creature tightly as they flew almost as high as  _ Atlas _ before straightening out. Somehow, possibly cause he’d been expecting it, Tyrian kept a firm grip on Ren.

If Nora had to list the top best and worst moments of her life this would somehow rank on both lists. On the one hand, a murderous psychopath had poisoned everyone and was blackmailing her into being complacent in her own mass kidnapping. Easily one of the worst. Not THE worst surprisingly, that honor still belonged to her dizzy and dazed and confused half aware while some creep was trying to shove his dick down her throat in exchange for food. That would probably always be number one on her worst list. This was in the top five. Narrowly, but still there. On the  _ other _ hand…. She was soaring through the air completely unfettered and looking at the absolutely  _ beautiful  _ ice covered expanse of Solitas fly beneath her. It wasn’t  _ possible  _ to see from the ground, but the sharp valleys and winding spirals of mountains untouched by humans or Grimm looked beyond gorgeous. And flying without anything stopping her?! It was so freeing to feel the bite of crisp air on her features without the ships they were normally in. It was always the best part about freefalling for a landing. And the  _ sky!  _ The amount of stars seen without the lights of Mantle or Atlas bothering her was nothing short of magnificent. The best moment of her life would always be the barely there memory of her badass of a mom wrapping her fingers tight around Die Erlösung to teach her how to swing the hammer. This was clocking in top ten. If it was the exact same situation only none of the cons, just flying on a Grimm with her friends, solid three. 

Tyrian seemed preoccupied with where they were headed, though Nora couldn’t quite figure out how he was steering. It seemed like he was flying away from the sunset and directly into a no fly zone, which made sense if they wanted to avoid the air ban on Atlas. She didn’t think anyone was aware of just how  _ fast  _ a Grimm could actually go. It seemed to have some weird... _ thing _ about it. The wind wasn’t tossing her away and no one had fallen, Tyrian hadn’t held on even once and she could  _ see  _ just quickly they were moving. But They’d left Solitas it seemed, flying over an ocean as it got darker. They’d been flying almost half an hour now. He’d transferred Ren from his tail to his arms, transferring the hammer to his tail and still not holding onto the Grimm but at least he seemed more honest about not just dropping and killing him. He had the audacity to be humming, as if this were a run of the mill thing he did everyday. Actually, seeing how he’d been trying to kidnap Ruby when they’d first met him, maybe it  _ was  _ something he did every other day, kidnap random people. Jaune wasn’t doing too good, slipping from semiconscious to full unconsciousness. Qrow coughed, gurgling up bit of blood and Nora shifted as best she could, craning her neck to try and see better.

“Hey Crazy!” Qrow snarled. “About how long till we get him healed like you promised!” Even coughing up blood, he was far more concerned with the ashen looking boy he was watching. Tyrian stopped humming abruptly and looked around. 

“Are you always so impatient or am I to take that to mean he’s dying? I  _ told _ you to keep pressure on the wound.” He wraps Ren back up in his tail to start checking his pockets. Interestingly, he seems to be able to do both, loosely holding Ren by the waist and the thicker base of his tail while the tip and deadly stinger are wound tight around good ol Mags. He retrieves a watch. “AH! You’re in luck, close enough.” Qrow cranes his head to see a watch that rather than tell time simply has a screen and three buttons; Red, Silver, and Green. Tyrian presses the red one on the left and an indistinct face appears. 

“This had  **_better_ ** be important.” The sound quality is good enough that, while Nora behind him can’t make it out, Qrow can if he leans forward. A woman, and she sounds  _ pissed. _ “Why are you back already?”   
“Hello Mother” His voice is what a poisoned hard candy would sound like if it could speak. “I’m only going to be in your hair long enough to drop off a package. And I need Kida. I’ve got a  _ dying _ boy.” 

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS DID YOU DO THIS TIME YOU ANIMAL!” Tyrian took that moment to hang up the call with a roll of his eyes.

“About two more minutes if you can keep him alive that long.” 

“ _ Please  _ don’t tell me we have to trust your mom to heal Jaune” Nora practically begged. Tyrian snorted so hard he almost dropped Ren, but transferred the boy back into his hands

“Mother is simply fetching Kida.  _ Kida _ can heal all save death. Mother couldn’t fix a fly.” He paused to think. “Actually Kida may be able to help with death to come to think of it. Hmmm. So you may not have to press as hard as I thought. But she hasn’t exactly  _ tried _ it yet.” 

As he spoke Nora noticed, due to falling into Qrow, that they were tilted almost directly down. They weren’t losing speed from the breakneck speed he’d set in the first place, just  **_DOWN_ ** . This must have been what he meant by ‘hold on’. Jaune would have tumbled off had he not been pressed  _ into  _ Tyrian. Qrow himself was hugged into Jaune to make sure he was alright and curled over the kid, putting stress on his wounds. Nora tumbled over Qrow,but before she could so much as scream, but Tyrian’s tail came through in the clutch, catching her and holding her instead of letting her fall again.  Nora had squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of her death, but opened them when she was caught. They were going down so much  _ faster _ than she’d thought, her eyes watering from the wind and speed. One second there was swiftly approaching ground ...the next there was a city. Where the fuck did it even  _ come  _ from. The Grimm landed calmly, going from too fast to think to nothingness in an instant. She was still blinking when she was dropped onto the ground. 

“ **_Animal_ ** ” Qrow looked up at the voice he’d heard come from the watch. The voice belonged to a startlingly pretty dark skinned young woman. Wait….. 

“Hello Mother” Tyrian’s smile spoke of murder. And besides being far darker than him, the woman looked  _ younger _ than him. As he got off the Grimm he tossed Ren over his shoulder, though he really didn’t  _ have _ to. He’d taken them Brothers knew where, to some sort of city made of stone and dust. He called this place  **_home_ ** and there were Grimm wandering around. Grimm that apparently listened to him. Qrow was having trouble breathing, one of those bullets must have hit a lung. Jaune AND Ren were poisoned and the madman still held Nora’s hammer. 

“Why are you  _ here?”  _ If Tyrian’s smile spoke of muder, the woman could eviscerate with the razors in her voice. She crossed her arms and looked up at the taller man, uncaring of the tail that sliced through the air. “You just left a fortnight ago! Why am I cursed with you once more!” The woman spoke just as weirdly as she was dressed, and she  _ dressed _ like she was sitting at home waiting for her lover to return from the Great War. 

Qrow had seen a corset before. Of the corsets he’d seen, most of them were part of either a uniform or a costume. The rest? He could count all of them on his fingers and have a hand leftover. Nora had worn an underbust when he’d seen her in Vytal, but even then, it was cosmetic. The woman standing in front of them wore a corset that didn’t even do the fun part of a push up, a sole and crimson dress going from the top of her neck to the ground. She even had a bustle. Where the absolute  _ fuck  _ were they? Her arms were crossed and her hands, clad in palmless gloves, kept clenching and unclenching, like she was restraining herself from throwing a punch.

“I’ll have you know, I’m dropping off a package. Rope please “she huffed, but her hand ducked under her bustle and emerged with a length of rope.” 

“Why should I help you?” She demanded. He hummed. 

“Because the sooner you help me, the sooner I leave you to your endless misery and make your life a bit better by not being in it.” He was smiling at her, more like showing his teeth in the most predatory way he could. She didn’t seem afraid of him, tossing him the rope as if it could kill him with enough intent. He caught it with one hand.

While the two were arguing it was clear that he’d temporarily forgotten about them. He was still holding Ren, so there was no running, but they could at least get a better scenario, by whatever small measure they could make it better. Nora reached up to take Jaune and Qrow started to transfer the kid before Tyrian proved that he didn’t forget at all. He transferred the hammer to his hand and his tail wrapped around the blonde, though Qrow was terrified for the kid’s sake, he was in no position to fight. Especially when Tyrian had  **backup** of all things. To his credit, the tail was gentle with Jaune. 

“TYRIAN!!!!!” While the original woman sounded like she was two breaths from killing him, the new voice sounded overjoyed. The woman racing towards them had choppily cut snow white hair, ice blue eyes, and was just a few shades lighter than the first woman. Caramel rather than coffee. She was also dressed oddly, but in a different way. Her aqua dress was only vaguely dress shaped, more like a robe with off the shoulder sleeves. Over the robe was a lilac piece of fabric that looked like the neck was the only thing actually cut out from it, the collar resting just below her collarbone. A wide gold band was tied around her to make a waist on the dress as well as connect the two pieces. Barefoot, she bounced in front of Tyrian. “WHAT’D YOU GET ME!!!!” 

“ISSUES!” He answered, grinning just as widely as she did, even though she visibly deflated at the news. “Recognize the armor?” His grin got wider as he tossed Jaune to her. Jaune proved that he was alive, gurgling as his wound reopened even wider than before. 

“CASPIAN!” She was happy again but...he didn’t look good. The once black bottom of his shirt was a mess of bright red and, more worrying- dried brown. Nora’s eyes went wide in horror while Qrow’s brain started to run the chances of what his semblance could do to the kid what with the fact he’d been so close to him the whole trip. “Tyrian what’d you do to Caspian?” The woman asked. “Actually, how did you find him?” The case of mistaken identity wasn’t one that they had time to fix.

“YOU PROMISED YOU’D LET THEM LIVE IF I CAME WITH YOU!!!” Nora was shaking and angry. The second woman blinked at her, before her crystal blue gaze returned to Jaune. 

“Well we haven’t reached our destination just yet” Tyrian jeered. “Though fine, a show of good faith. Kida, Caspian is half dead if you wouldn’t mind.” Kida seemed to be the name of the new girl, for she gasped. 

“OH! Of course! Mother please?” 

The woman in the black and red dress offered a hand as the woman holding Jaune changed. Her semblance, but she turned translucent and her coloring was almost crystal like-matching her eyes. As the woman in the bustle touched her, Kida started to glow brilliantly, seeming to drain the other woman a bit. Kida adjusted how she held Jaune and moved his shirt up. The fabric was heavy with blood and some partially dried spots had to be  _ pulled _ off. When all was said and done, Kida was able to gently put her hand  _ inside  _ of the blonde. The change was instant. Starting from inside, that crystal color on him spread, dragging some of the skin before knitting it together. Jaune returned to consciousness, jerking awake to scream in agony as she continued. Qrow and Nora flinched at the screaming. He was in pain, but pain was at least  _ something _ . Wide blue eyes were open again, and darting about wildly as his sallow skin started to get his usual definition back. That weird crystal blue translucence didn’t seem to spread too much farther than his stomach. They could  _ see _ him getting better, but he screamed and jerked like she was using acid on him. In no time at all it was done. A startled Jaune grabbed Kida as they seemed to reverse. He was fine... she almost collapsed.

“You….You  _ bitch _ .” Kida’s voice was breathy and she was disoriented. “You didn’t tell me he was poisoned. I would have.” 

“Are you...alright?” Jaune asked her. 

“My….My semblance. I need ...Aura I used ...” Her eyes were unfocused, but she  _ had _ just healed him… Jaune sighed and activated his own semblance, and granted her a boost. Kida slowly gained her bearings again, standing up. “Thanks!” She gave him a dazzling smile. The woman in the black and red dress looked between Jaune and Kida before snarling in anger. 

“These newcomers must head to Temporary Housing at once!” Whatever had been drained was back. Maybe Kida’s drain was only a temporary effect. The older woman’s hand was on a whip at her waist.

“Of course they must.” Judging by her face she was both surprised by Tyrian agreeing with her and suspicious of his intentions. “He’s got bullet holes in him, and I’m sure Kida wants to talk to _"'Caspian'_ some more. But these two” And his tail wrapped around Nora’s shoulders to pull her close to him in a way that made her skin crawl. “Are coming with  _ me _ .” She shuddered, but looked at the boy in his arms and kept her mouth shut about how much she didn’t want to go with him. 

“Like Hell I’m letting them go off alone with you” Qrow had been awake this whole time. Though Tyrian could essentially do as he pleased, Qrow was still the adult in the situation and now the kids were being taken. Half an hour had let him get  _ some  _ aura back and he drew Harbringer…..a terrible idea really. 

“QROW!” Nora tried to run to him, but Tyrian’s tail kept her from going too far. 

Qrow hadn’t even been able to fully draw his weapon before the woman that Tyrian had called ‘Mother’ had drawn and struck out with her whip. The thing had an unnatural glow about it and Qrow had screamed like he was being murdered as it wrapped around his throat, his aura flickering out after a second. Jaune jumped into action, rushing the woman, who pressed a button on the first whip and caused it to split in two. Jaune blocked her first hit with his shield. She snarled and as she pulled on the whip she also pulled Qrow down. On her second hit the blonde leader’s mind went into overdrive trying to think of a way out. Tyrian’s home turf, crazy people, Ren was out of commision, Nora had no weapons…. Jaune tossed his sword on the ground. 

  
“WE’RE GOING LET HIM GO!” She complied, a flick of her wrist releasing Qrow, even though she looked at the older man like he was shit on the bottom of her shoe. Jaune checked the pulse of the twitching hunter. 

“Temporary Housing, the two of you” She ordered. “No active weapons in Crucible.” She watched with narrowed eyes as Jaune helped Qrow up. The older hunter was smoking slightly and breathing heavily. He smelled ... cooked. The woman snatched Harebringer from where it had landed.

“This way!” Kida was still perky. The fuck. “I can fix him right up, once you’re in Temporary Housing. Don’t worry! Right this way!” Jaune followed her, Qrow still conscious by insane effort of will. As Tyrian pulled her away, Nora looked back and saw  **_it_ ** , how had she missed **it** ? **It** was at least Twenty Feet Tall. 

Wherever they were, the Statue of  **_Salem_ ** was probably bad news.


	3. Temporary Housing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapter number jumped.....mostly cause 25 was a placeholder number anyway. I actually don't exactly know when this'll end. As in, I have an ending in mind, but there's still the story part and the X amount of CRAZY exposition while trying (probably failing) to keep certain secrets under lock in order to build up suspense. Let me know how I'm doing!!! I hope you all like!

Qrow was still conscious, leaning heavily on Jaune. And blondie had thrown down his sword to make the crazy woman see reason. Still, he couldn’t fault him for it. Her whip….. He’d never actually been  _ hit  _ by lightning. Wasn’t really stupid enough to be out and by metal during the rain. Not with his the winner of the Worst Possible Semblance, award. That, had been….  _ Extreme _ . It wasn’t possible to have a weapon actually made of dust, since dust was a crystal. At least...it shouldn't have been possible. Especially one that  _ moved  _ like that. And he was sure it was dust. He’d accidentally knocked over some ice dust as a kid, he knew the extra bite on top of the elemental damage it wrought. And that was pure  _ dust  _ levels of damage, destroying his aura and ready to fry him in seconds. His nerves may have gotten fried anyway, his left leg wouldn’t stop jerking. Jaune was practically carrying him on that side, trying to keep him from falling out. 

Jaune luckily ... or unluckily depending on how you looked at it,  _ had  _ been hit by lightning before. Turned out any she didn’t use, Nora stored to send back out at a later date. Luckily Pyrrha had thrown all the metal objects in the room away from Nora when she’d had a nightmare...well, she had at Beacon…… Long story short, Jaune was really aware of how much electricity someone could take and he was trying, with the Grimm swarming the place, to calm himself from the worry he had over how Qrow’s arm hadn’t stopped shaking. Throwing his sword hadn’t been the best idea, but it was just like the entrance exam. Sometimes it was best to retreat and live to fight another day. And while Qrow was this injured in a new place it was  **_definitely_ ** retreat time. Kida, their weird Guide girl was still pleasantly rambling about absolutely nothing at all as she led them away.

“By the Goddess I’m so rude! Do you need help Caspian?” He zeroed into what she was actually  _ saying  _ in her sweet sing-song voice

“Wha? Caspi-?” He stopped short. Was she only helping them due to a case of mistaken identity? She’d stopped walking, looking up at him expectantly. “Um... _ yeah _ a LOT of help. Like...where are we?” She snorted at him, but went on his other side to help with Qrow. 

“Still making jokes I see! Pfffttt, you haven’t changed a bit… Well, you got stronger, but that might just be cause you’re bigger.” Jaune just nodded, unsure of how exactly to navigate this. Kida seemed nice enough, but so had the other lady-by proxy of seeming to hate Tyrian, and she’d attacked without warning. 

“Yup, just the same. Say, let’s just pretend I hit my head and don’t remember anything, what is going  **on** ?” 

“Huh? I should’ve fixed that. Then again, I lost power near the end. I’ll handle that later.” She led him down a tunnel, one that was nearly glowing from the hard light dust that seemed to be plentiful around here. 

“Kida?” She hummed interested. Jaune’s eyes narrowed as he thought. There was a chance she was putting on an act. After all, she seemed buddy buddy with Tyrian, a serial killer and all around maniac. But...the woman that  _ hated  _ Tyrian was the loose cannon. Was she toying with them? Or was it like trying to get Nora to pay attention to something boring while there were pancakes in the room?

“Since you lost power at the end, mind giving me a quick refresher? Like...where we’re headed and why?” 

“AHHHHH, sorry about that. Currently we’re going to Temporary Housing! It’s where I spend most of my time healing people. All new people go there until we can get their house set up. Or ya know, when they’re grounded for misbehaving. Your friend broke a rule”

“No active weapons” Jaune murmured. It was what the other woman had said. Okay, they were dealing with a ‘Nora’ situation. Distractible, not dangerous. Well...if it were a  _ true  _ Nora situation, distractible didn’t negate dangerous.

“RIGHT! Rule four! Mother gets so….  _ Incensed  _ when rules are broken.” Well that was as careful a warning about abuse he’d heard since Weiss talking about her father. “She doesn’t really  _ mean _ anything by it. It’s just how she is.” 

“Of course. Do you mind giving me a” He froze as a Beowulf got a bit  _ close _ . And him without his sword

“Off with you dear thing” Jaune stiffened. Qrow, who was staying quiet due to the massive neck injury turned his head to look at Kida. “You’re in the way right now. I’ve got a new person!” 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me” Damn but it hurt to talk. That crazy broad must have bruised his larynx while administering shock therapy. The Grimm walked over snarling at the men, but Kida clicked her tongue twice and red eyes turned back to her, roving her up and down before the creature huffed and wandered off. Kida felt Qrow stiffen and clicked her tongue at him. 

“Relax. That’s terrible for your wounds. Let us carry your weight sir.” 

“You just spoke to a  _ Grimm.  _ And it  **_listened_ ** to you.” Tyrian had done that too. Just asked it to take him home and here they all were at ‘build a psycho’. 

“The Grimm here do not not bother anything or anyone. The Goddess has allowed us to live in her endless kindness.” Qrow screwed up his face at the girl. Obviously  _ someone _ was chugging crazy juice. 

“Well lemmie save ya some trouble. We’re not  **_staying_ ** here.” Kida’s face fell at that “We were kidnapped and if I’m breakin rules just point me to the exit and I’ll get outta ya hair. Hows that?” 

“That’s ridiculous.” She said sharply. “Just  _ look  _ at you! You’ve got multiple gunshot wounds, electric nerve damage, judging by your voice; the box was injured while you were suffocated. I am not letting you out of Temporary Housing like this sir!” Qrow’s snarl faded as she continued. Well ...he  _ did  _ feel like shit on a stick. And she seemed like she genuinely cared. Okay, maybe she was less psycho and more misguided. He could work with that. 

“And Tyrian?” She looked past Qrow to Jaune. And it was almost adorable that she seemed moments away from actively  _ wagging her finger _ to scold Qrow. 

“What about him?” She asked as they approached a huge stone building that looked like it had been carved into the cave wall. “Caspian, can you hold him for a second so I can get the door?” Jaune nodded and took back the full weight of Qrow. Kida waved a rainbow crystal and the door seemed to….. Materialize from thin air. One second they were looking at a wall ...the next, a huge door that she pushed open. “Right this way!” She was nearly skipping as she came back to grab Qrow’s other side. 

* * *

The inside of the building wasn’t the torure chamber they were somewhat expecting from this place that Tyrian called home. It didn’t even look right for the bouncing, bubbly Kida. It was...organized. A long wide well lit hallway with glass walls in between individual rooms. More hard light dust was used here. It seemed to be the only way they had to light anything. The rooms also weren’t bad. They were good sized rooms with a bed on one corner, a small bookcase with an overstuffed armchair, a radio, even a desk with paper and a porcelain teapot. They looked like _ personal  _ rooms. 

“Hello Kida!” Jaune and Qrow turned to the smiling man in a room. Half of his  _ face _ was missing. It looked like some kind of accident, the wound wasn’t open or bleeding. “I should’ve known you had an emergency.  _ Please  _ tell me you saved some juice for me?” Kida winced. 

“Sorry. Tyrian came back with  **WORK** ! I’ve gotta stabilize this guy and get lunch for everyone. You should be out of here by tomorrow, I swear Mr. Snow.”

“I’ve told you child, Corio. Mr. Snow is my grandfather!” The response caused both parties to start laughing as she continued taking them down the hall. 

“AH! Here we are!” The room looked identical to the other rooms surrounding it, but she pressed a panel on the side of the wall and the glass sank into the floor. "On the bed on the bed." Jaune and Qrow shared a suspicious look, but Qrow groaned so Jaune brought him inside to place the older hunter horizontal and keep pressure off his wounds. Kida let go of the wall to follow them in and a few seconds after her hand was off the panel the door rose again. 

"Neat Trick" Qrow groaned out.  _ Bad _ trick. They were trapped unless she let em out. 

“Caspian" she continued as if she hadn't heard the low muttering, maybe she hadn't "you can go across the hall and you’ll both be out in a week, two at  _ absolute  _ most!” 

“WHAT!” Qrow was now  _ extra  _ pissed lil miss nuts had taken his weapon. He needed to get the fuck outta here. 

“You’re not leaving while injured and that is FINAL! I have one job and I refuse to let you make me a murderer because you refuse to sit down for treatment!” 

“Wait you fixed Ja-uh... _ Caspian  _ just fine!” Qrow decided to hop on the crazy train and jump off at the first stop. “Why does he need to stay?” Kida snorted. 

“You call  _ that  _ a fix? That’s a patch job. Case in point, he still can’t remember anything. First dose is to get you stable, then you get added to the rotation like Corio. No one gets special treatment!” Fuck. The Case of Mistaken identity was now  **_harming_ ** them. “Besides, You need to stay for a few days anyway so I can get charged enough to fix every little thing. For all I know I was so busy sewing his stomach back together I missed a puncture in an intestine or I didn't fully clear out the poison but I did well enough that it was severely weakened and he leaves, it gets stronger three days later BOOM dead." She looked down. "It's happened before to unstable folks. They just trust my semblance and  _ insist _ they're fine." Qrow was actively pissed at the situation, but something about the woman looked so  _ heartbreaking _ that he genuinely felt bad.

"Look. I need those kids Tyrian took-Ren and Nora. He hurt em real badly and I need to make sure they're alright. Then I gotta get us home. Do you get that?" Surprisingly, it seemed she did. Her face lit up in understanding. She lifted her wrist and had a similar watch to the one Tyrian had used, her watch only had Red and Black as the buttons. Like him, she pushed the red button. The same cross face that had nearly killed Qrow came on the screen.

"What the  **_fuck_ ** is wrong now?"

"Hello Mother!!!" There seems to be absolutely nothing that was capable of stopping Kida's boundless optimism. And what’s weirder…..it seems to work. The woman takes a deep breath and answers. Clipped and deadpan, but far better than what she’d given Tyrian. 

“What is wrong Kida? Am I needed at Temporary Housing?” 

“Yes actually, but nothing is  _ wrong ...I _ don’t think so anyway. You don’t have to rush and you are more than welcome to calm yourself. Caspian and….” She looked up. “I’m so absolutely sorry, I forgot to grab your name!” 

“Branwen. Qrow Branwen” Kida giggled. 

“What a funny name!” a deep sigh came from her watch. “Oh, sorry. Caspian and Qrow are really very worried about the two others Tyrian brought with him. Can you please come here and give them a status report whenever you can? I’m putting them right across from each other so that they can see progress and know that no one is trying to hurt them.” There was a long moment in which the cross woman took another  _ deep  _ breath. 

“ _ Fine.  _ For you I will deal with the never-ending migraine that is Tyrian.” Kida just hummed in joy. 

“THANK YOU SO MUCH MOTHER YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!” Another world weary sigh came from the watch before the connection was cut. Kida smiled back at the men. “There you have it, Mother will come by with a report as soon as she figures out why Tyrian brought them here." 

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Qrow sits up, yelling at the woman, who flinches. "He's gonna  **KILL** em! And you're twiddling your thumbs letting your crazy mom figure out how to  _ help _ him kill em?" Kida blinked a bit, deeply confused. As the incensed man tried to get up.  _ Tried _ being the operative word. His limbs shook and whether it was from electric shock or aura drain, his leg wouldn’t let him stand, half falling out of the bed.

“Please stop” She begged, picking him up. She gave Jaune a worried look. Obviously she expected ‘Caspin’ to know what was wrong. But Jaune was more preoccupied with looking at the wall to figure out how to make the glass sink to get out when she’d healed Qrow. Kida sighed, help wasn’t coming. “You don’t need to worry about your friends getting killed. Tyrian can’t kill anyone here. There’s a strict rule about no violence.” Qrow grunted. 

“And the doom whip was  _ what  _ exactly?” 

“You broke a rule.” Kida’s voice had gone from happy and bubbly to quiet and scared in an instant. “Mother is the Justice here. In which she had to act to preserve order.” 

“Your mom is the whole Police force?” Jaune asked. Kida fixed him with another confused look. “Um…..hit on the head, memory. Run me through the rules so I know not to mess up and your scary mother or your terrifying brother”

“Brother?” 

“Yeah, Tyrian called her mother too.” 

“Of course he did she…” Kida trailed off, the light-bulb going off in her head and she giggled. “Mother isn’t my  _ mom.  _ Oh Goddess you must have been so confused! The woman that gave birth to me died doing just that. That was  _ Mother, _ the Justice of Crucible and keeper of order. I am a ‘Mother’s Little Helper’, and I spend my time  _ here _ in Temporary Housing fixing those that have misbehaved.” Her words were slow, as if she hoped to trigger memories. 

“Wait,” Qrow struggled to sit up but Kida pushed down on his chest and  **_pinned_ ** him. She was a lot stronger than she looked. 

“Down” She ordered gently. His simmering fury was cooled only by the twitch in her jaw that meant that she was getting pissed to. She was the same stalk as Tyrian’s sneak attack and ‘Mother’ and her lack of care about previous injuries. He stayed laying down to ask his question. 

“You people call your  _ leader  _ Mother?” Kida nodded happily. 

“Well, yes. That's what she is and so that is her role. Do you….  _ Not _ call your leaders by their role?” her head tilted adorably, snow white hair falling in uneven layers around her head. 

"Well yeah but ...wouldn't she be a Queen or something?" Jaune asked. Kida's face twisted horribly. 

"Caspian don't even  _ joke _ like that! There is only one queen. The Queen Goddess" Jaune groaned. 

"Right…. Salem."

"Who?" Both Jaune and Qrow looked at her for that, but her face was a mask of confusion. Either she was a REALLY GOOD ACTRESS or she truly had no idea. 

"Sorry…." Jaune shrugged. "Memories. What was the name of the goddess again?" Kida seemed to accept that for she nodded

"No one knows."Jaune startled, looking from bubbly Kida to the woman beyond the glass.Mother was there, and she looked even more pissed than before, nearly _quivering_ in rage. Her arms crossed, she glowered directly at Jaune and even 6”2’ he felt like he was ten inches tall. “Your friend seemed quite concerned about you **_Jaune_** ” He froze. Qrow tried and failed to push at Kida’s hand, but the healer was the one that spoke. 

“Mother  _ please”  _ She begged. Mother sighed and opened her mouth, but before she could speak Kida continued. “He’s the right age, he looks just like him, he’s  _ wearing the armor  _ and he’s quite content to play along!” That’s when Jaune’s brain stuttered out. 

“Wait you….knew?” 

“Wrong semblance. Though you do look  _ just _ like him.” Her face was soft. Whoever this ‘Caspian’ was meant a lot to her then. Mother let out a long sigh. 

“Fine.” Kida’s eyes lit up. “I’ll put him with Brendon in the church so he stays out of trouble. Inform him of the rules and the  _ instant _ he steps out of line.-”

“CASPIEN WOULDN’T DO THAT!” Kida protested. Mother gave her a flat look, but rolled her eyes. 

“Caspien, would you give Kida a top up before you come with me? Ren is insistent. And Neither of you are to trust Father. I will warn you of that  _ once _ .” Jaune turned around to see that Kida had already gone into her crystal form and was holding out her hand. He didn’t want to leave Qrow, but Ren had gone with Nora and would have the news he needed. Kida seemed relatively harmless. As he touched her, he became aware of the fact that she wasn’t just getting a boost last time. She was literally  _ draining _ his aura. He almost  _ tasted  _ it on the tips of his senses, the cool blue that slipped into his bones to sap away everything. If he didn’t have such large reserves he’d be sunk. But as it was, she grabbed him until he was a little tired and she was glowing so brightly it hurt to look at. Mother touched the panel to lower the wall, then clicked her tongue for Jaune to follow her. He did, only after seeing Kida place one hand on Qrow's stomach and the other loosely around his injured throat.

* * *

Mother looked Jaune up and down as she abruptly turned on her heel.. She was thinking, and hard. 

“This way” She walked ahead of him, back straight and head high. She wasn’t worried about an attack, in fact, Jaune could  _ see _ his sword  **_and_ ** StormFlowers peeking out from under her bustle. It was entirely possible to grab it and try to fight her. But that was stupid. He didn’t know where he was, Kida indicated that he might still be hurt after a patch job, and she was taking him to….. 

“Where’s Nora?” She stiffened, angry again. 

“I do not wish to talk about that.” Jaune’s heart filled with ice. “Perhaps Ren will enlighten you.” She turned on her heel down a hall Jaune hadn’t even realized existed the first time. He chanced a glance at the rest of the hall and saw Corrio Snow reading by the glass wall. He’d distracted them from the hallway the first time. “Caspien!” She sounded pissed so he ran to catch up with her. Lucilly, it was  _ just _ a hidden hallway. The rooms weren’t like, horrible this way. 

“Why is he all the way over here?” Jaune asked as they walked. Mother took a deep sigh. 

“You know, you make a very good asset to Kida. Would you like to work with her instead of Brendan?” He frowned. Why was she avoiding his questions? Another hallway, but this one, in the first room, was Ren, cross legged on the bed and meditating. 

“REN!” With the call of his name, the shorter boy’s eyes snapped open and he ran to press himself against the glass. 

“You’re Alright!” Ren gasped. He let out a breath of fear he must have been holding. 

“Yeah I’m fine. What about you? You were poisoned and Kida’s here ” 

“Tyrian himself fixed me.” That was…..odd, but whatever.

“And Nora!” Ren’s face did a funny thing there. It looked like he was thinking, about to cry and going to laugh all at once. 

“Nora is…..that is a complicated issue. I believe she will be ok.” Mother shook then, full of rage 

“Mother?” Jaune asked, then turned his attention back to Ren upon seeing that she was just angry again. “What do you mean  _ believe _ is she-” 

“You saw each other. You know he’s okay. Moving on because I do  **_not_ ** want to be here with ANY of you” And with that her right palm touched the back of Jaune’s neck, exposed due to the haircut. He sank to the ground. Mother took a few calming breaths, then hoisted him up over her shoulder and turned back the way she’d come, keeping her palm to his skin. 


	4. Stiff upper lip Solider

Nora tried not to panic as she was pulled down the tunnel. Panic wouldn’t be helpful here. Panic wouldn’t be….. She wanted to hug herself and cry. She wanted to **_break down_**. She always tried to see the best in ANY situation but this...it was difficult to see any best here. Ren had been poisoned for a while, he was currently slung over the shoulder of a madman. Said madman also had _he_ ** _r_** coiled up in his death tail and her only form of defence in his hands. Even if she could reach Ren’s weapons from the distance he held her at (and curse her for being so short with such a tiny reach) she didn’t know how to use them. No one EXCEPT the madman had any CLUE where they were. On the plus side, Jaune was healed. He was healed enough to walk off with the other lady and Qrow…..If she healed Jaune she could heal Qrow and then she’d come back and heal Ren. Okay. She fought down her tears and stress and **_NEED TO BREAK DOWN_** cause they were in Grimm infested enemy territory right now and she had to stay brave and stop _shaking_.

“Are you going to calm down anytime soon?” She trembled harder. He had the _audacity_ to grin, to act as if they were _old friends_ and this was just some ...CHAT! “Look, if it makes you feel any better. Why would I bring you all the way here just to kill you?” No, no it didn’t. Because he was the type of jackass that would toy with them and hold hope right in front of them to steal it away at the last second. “Your eyes let me take down Branwen without a _fight_.” He purred. “It was just _you_. I’d already **_basically_** killed your little friends. You were the only one left, swinging with growing desperation and a cold dread that was _certainly_ drawing in Grimm you wouldn’t have the strength to fight even if you got past me.” His cackling giggle did nothing to calm her nerves, instead it made her think of how pancakes felt right before she got to them. 

“So…..why  _ are  _ we here?” He hummed a bit. 

“Well, your friends are  _ leverage _ .” He licked his teeth like the weirdo he was. “You ...Ha! The  _ blonde _ was interesting before. You, my dear quickly became an  _ obsession _ .” Was he…..was he  _ hitting  _ on her? Or was that just his voice? He seemed to have two modes, over the top and purring out words. And they hit each other quite often. 

“Why do you want me?” Please don’t  _ want  _ her want her. Anything but that. Literally  **_anything_ ** but that! He hummed again. 

“I have to introduce you to the most important woman in my life.” That did  _ not _ help. “Second most? ….hmmmm It may be a tie. No  _ Most _ ” He chuckled darkly and Nora felt her heart drop to her stomach. What did Salem want with her? “The simple fact of the matter is,” He continued “if you’re a liar, I’ll take your friends, kill them in front of you, and put you right back where I found you with the knowledge that-and you won’t know when, I’ll be personally coming for you!” Nora shuddered. He’d say she was somehow lying about something she’d never even said just to do that. “ _ But, _ if you’re telling the truth I’ll stop at nothing to be with you forever. Well, nothing within my capabilities and if the Goddess allows it.” Nora shuddered. She REALLY didn’t want to end up some child bride to a serial killing maniac. Welll….not a  _ child _ bride. She wasn’t the greatest at keeping track of her birthdays but she was  _ pretty sure _ she was over 18 ...or like, 20….. Somewhere in there. Still, child or no she didn’t wanna be his weird Cult Bride. 

“I hear a lose-lose.” He gave a sharp bark of laughter at that and they walked into another chamber. Due to not being NEARLY as freaked out this time around. Well... she  _ was  _ freaked, but that he might kill the guys over a lie she couldn’t remember saying, not about falling to her death. She got a good look around first and foremost. 

A series of about ten small stone houses were lined up in military precision. They all had significant wear and tear to them. The holes in them were fixed with slabs of stone or metal that had been melted to the original base. Each of them had an untouched plot of dirt in front of them. Two of the houses had wooden doors, but only two. The others all had hinges where doors  _ should  _ be. He continued walking with her. Past the houses to a wide open space. Was this the area he'd wanted her to go to? Why not just land here? It was bright even without the hard light dust, the ground itself seemed to glow with something. It was  _ cold _ here. She looked up to note that there were only splatterings of stars. He  _ couldn't _ just land there, she realized. The holes in the sky were uneven. The ground here looked scorched. As if someone made pavement the old fashioned way, tamping down dirt until it was even and smooth and then hitting it with fire so that it stayed. The back of the houses were a lot more damaged than the fronts of them had been, but with the same caring patch jobs....it wasn't until she noticed the track that she realized what was going on. This was some kind of….. _ training _ facility, a huge one. But with semblances and weapons it would  _ have _ to be big. And with the uneven holes in the sky…this ...this had been a dust mine. It had been an  _ enormous _ dust mine. And they'd just ...built a training ground in it! But ...but  _ why?  _ Where were they? What did this have to do with anything. There weren't ten houses she realized, but twenty. Ten more houses lined the other side of the training facility. Only one broke formation. The farthest house on the southern tip of the line was bigger than the others, another section added on with huge stones stuck together with welded metal. It was also the least damaged. The plot of land is a bit bigger, and full to bursting with herbs. Nora’s eyes widen as she realizes that the newer patches on the other houses were the only places missing any dirt. 

“Is that where we’re headed?” She asks, though she knows the answer. Tyrian gives her a cold chuckle. 

“You’re either going to be telling the truth, or join a long,  _ long _ line of dead redheads.” She spun in his tail. 

“What? What did I even lie about!?” His smile grows even wider and more manic at that. Without a word he heads to the parallel bars, finally taking Ren off of his shoulder. The boy is pale and unresponsive, but  _ breathing _ …. At least, for now. Tyrian uses the rope to tie him to the bars, horizontally, cause he’s a DICK like that, winding rope around Ren’s middle as if tying him to train tracks in an old cartoon. Then he places his palm over the prone boy. 

“You…. You can heal?” The scoff he gives in response is almost  _ unbearably  _ bitter. 

“Not heal.  **Steal,** I learned that the hard way. Heal has no caveats you see. I can however, steal minor things.” 

“Like what?” She was still trembling. She didn’t trust this guy. He’d steal Ren’s  _ what  _ “His memories? His semblance his” Tyrian choked down a cackle. 

“His  _ heath _ . I can make him unbelievably ill. It makes my mind calm you see, my thoughts, rational, sane.” Her eyes widened. There was no doubt this  **_monster_ ** would make Ren even sicker than he already was just to torture her for whatever she’d said that he didn’t like. And then use his new better thinking to do… whatever horrible thing he was planning to do for Salem. Destroy her once home.“Or” Tyrian continued, and his eyes and hand both glowed a bright purple. To Nora’s horror, he touched Ren and the boy also started to glow. The only thing that kept her from screaming in horror was the blossom colored eyes that fluttered open. 

“R...Ren?” He groaned, Tyrian continuing steal his illness the way he’d told that he could steal health. Nora’s eyes widened in joy as Ren started wildly fighting his bonds, gaining awareness of what Nora couldn’t see. She was soon made aware of it as Tyrian started cackling  **_MADLY_ ** . She started struggling against the metal tail in earnest as it began to tighten on her. Where before it was just firmly holding her, it seemed like he was now  _ actively _ trying to crush her via turning her ribs to powder. 

_**“WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU ABOUT FIXING YOUR CRAZY BEFORE YOU COME TO VISIT ME YOU INSUFFERABLE BRAT!!!!”** _

Tyrian  _ himself  _ is gone and Nora falls to her knees taking great greedy gasps of air. Ren, seeing her out of danger calms only marginally. Marginal, because Tyrian is on the other side of him, having performed a truly  _ impressive  _ sideways full body flip to escape the giant War Axe that was currently occupying the space he’d been a sixteenth of a second ago. What’s worse, he was still crazily giggling at the woman that had saved Nora as Nora herself rises, not wanting to seem weak in this place.

She was some kind of angel. And that wasn’t just cause she’d saved them….  _ Probably _ . She stood tall, at least 5’10, scared all over her heavily muscled form. Her thigh length red hair was streaked with grey and held back by what looked like a piece of Grimm. It was impossible, yes, but the black headband had what looked like the same sort of bone plating rising from it. She had the single most ‘done with your shit’ expression on her face and directed at the Faunus, emerald eyes flashing in his direction and full red lips pulled in a scowl. Her ample chest was held by a chainmail bra of all things. A chainmail bra that had a few scales dyed red from old blood and a few others with arrowheads melted into the rest of the mail. The arrowheads stood out, grass green against black. Resting on her shoulders is a black jacket so torn it’s only barely recognizable as such. All the tears were patched with white thread, save the white sleeves which were stitched with black. Powerful legs came out of an armored miniskirt, one with black and white alternating plates and a red star carved into the top and bottom of each of said plates. Ren hadn’t seen or heard her coming, she hadn’t even set off his senses which was  _ beyond  _ impressive since he’d been facing the direction she’d presumably come from. She was also absentmindedly twirling a two handed battle axe a little taller than Nora. 

  
  


“What the Hell did you do this time.” She barked. Her intense eyes left Tyrian for a moment, completely unconcerned with him as she surveyed Nora. “Fuck.” She turns back to the twitching man. “Did you kidnap  **_ANOTHER_ ** one! Damn it Tyrian!” She crossed her arms, tucking the axe away. Both children went to warn her as the madman’s tail went up and his breathing got audibly heavy and sharp. “Just try it bitch” And her voice triggered him into another bought of giggles. “And didn’t you get  **_OVER_ ** this nonsense years ago? I thought redheads and hammer users were reclassified to disappointment. You know, like  _ you.”  _

“SHE WAS” He protested. “She was she was! But….she had  _ both! _ ” The woman sighs heavily. He jerks once, then tosses her the hammer, which Ren knows from experience is strikingly heavy. Not only does Tyrian just  _ toss _ it, the woman’s unencumbered arm shoots out almost too fast to be seen and catches the handle as if it were a handball. “It has the symbol!!! And she claimed it!” He was nuts, jumping around in a sort of happy dance as he spoke. The woman’s head tilted as she swung the axe onto her back to use two hands to examine the hammer. Jewel toned eyes darted around the hammer and spotted ...presumably, the same thing Tyrian had. She freezes, face going white, and narrows her eyes at Nora. 

“This is  _ your _ Hammer?” Nora can’t speak, pinned by the intimidating eyes, but she can nod. The woman huffs and throws it at her.  _ Nora _ catching the hammer Ren expects, though she takes two hands to do it and had to brace herself. “Let’s see you swing that thing. Hit me.” She freezes at the order. Trying and failing to hit a monster like Tyrian is one thing, but this was a little old lady. Granted a  **_badass_ ** and not so  _ little  _ little old lady but still. “Girl I’m the only thing standing between you and a  _ very  _ painful drawn out unnecessary death at the hands of Tyrian.  **_HIT ME_ ** ” Nora trembled. 

“I…..You’ll  _ break! _ ” Both the woman and Tyrian threw their heads back in raucous laughter at that thought. 

Then, the woman got a funny look in her eyes and the wind began to howl. Her eyes, hair and throat all began to glow a brilliant silver. Ren squinted against the sudden wind. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed A spotlight seemed to come from nowhere to focus on the apparent angel and Nora hunched over, her own eyes glowing silver as the woman opened her mouth, a beautiful, operatic, inescapable song escaping to bind Nora to her words. 

**_LITTLE GIRL,_ **

**_WITH ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH,_ **

**_TAKE THAT HAMMER AND HIT ME!_ **

**_RIGHT NOW!!!!!_ **

Ren started struggling again, but whatever the lady’s weird semblance was, Nora was caught by it. The hammer came up and a silver eyed Nora gave a GUTTURAL war cry. Rather then attack at once, Nora shambled backwards a bit. She got a proper running start and used the bars Ren himself was tied to. He recognized the attack. Nora ran, jumped, leapt off the bars and used her grenades to propel herself to the top of one of the buildings. Then she leapt off the building itself, screaming as she spun the hammer to hit the defenseless woman. 

Maybe not so defenseless. Quick as a whip the woman’s axe was not only back in her hand, but blocking Nora’s blow. It was what happened when an immovable object met an unstoppable force. The shock-wave wore at some of Ren’s bonds and Tyrian, on the other side of him  **skid back** , even braced as he was. The not so little old lady was completely unharmed. She made a hum as Nora’s eyes returned to teal and her arms sank. The rest of her followed shortly after, wobbling slightly before she fell to her knees. 

“Not bad. Not  _ Great _ , but not bad. Solid foundations, even if the potential is largely untapped.” The woman was not only still standing, she was circling Nora now. Her head was slightly tilted as she looked down at the teen. “Back up SugarLump!” She barked. “My semblance doesn't take  _ that  _ much out of a person.” Nora complied, less of another compulsion and more because she was trying to prove she could. Her legs were shaky and she didn’t need a detector to know that her aura was either  _ in _ or swiftly approaching red. The woman didn’t pause in her speaking “No matter  _ how  _ stubborn they are. Though stubborn does  _ help _ in this case.” And Nora’s face was quite suddenly in her free hand and being examined. 

“While you  _ manhandle  _ my best friend” And the woman looked up and over to Ren as if she’d forgotten he existed for a moment there. “Do you mind telling us at all what’s going on? Who you are, why we were kidnapped by a psychopath? What happened to the other boy that was with us?.... _ Any information at all _ ?” Nora’s eyes widened as the woman’s narrowed. Ren didn’t know about Qrow, he’d passed out before he’d arrived. 

“What’s going on is a test. Call me Hilda. You’ll butcher my full name like every other  **_idiot_ ** in Remnant. Tyrian believes your friend might be a Valkyrie.  **Stupid** of him, but he went through all the trouble to drag this girl to me so I’ll humor him with-”

“Wait  _ WHAT” _

“I  **am** a Valkyrie” Both Ren and Nora had spoken at the same time. Tyrian approached then, tail swinging wildly. 

“If she’s  _ lying _ I’ll destroy her.” His head tilted towards Nora, an unnatural smile spread over his features. “But….” He shrugs. “Her Hammer has the symbol. She’s a redhead...AND IF SHE’S LYING” His tail came out, darting around Hilda to gently graze Nora’s cheek. “I get to  **_have_ ** **_FUN_ ** ”Nora stumbled back on shaking legs as Tyrian turned his attention back to Hilda. “she’s lost weight since I saw her for the first time. She used to be  _ heavier _ in the thighs department.” The woman gave another hum, while Nora flinched. 

“You were  _ checking me out _ !?” Tyrian thought on that for a moment before nodding. “EWWWWW! I AM NOT GOING TO BE YOUR WEIRD CHILD BRIDE!” The woman rolled her eyes. What had Tyrian actually said to-this was Tyrian, nothing at all. Not only was he  _ confused _ the man looked downright  **disgusted** . 

“This is stupid. Let’s go with a different test. The name of your mother.

“Brigitte.” Nora scowled. There was something in the woman’s face that changed at that, becoming sadder. 

“Grandmother’s name?” 

“Never knew it” The disappointed face got worse. “I just knew she was from Vale.” Hilda gave a mirthless chuckle at that. Tyrian’s stinger started to trace Ren’s face. Ren, who was tired up and couldn’t escape to even defend himself. “J something, Zero Fifty Two, and the rest was rubbed out by the time I got it!! Some ...something with a C…. Tell them to make it count” Her voice was frantic as she trembled looking at Ren. 

“TYRIAN!” The man looked up at Hilda’s bark. She turned her attention back to Nora. “Explain. 'Tell them to make it count'?” Tyrian locks his eyes onto Nora as well. Nora was nearly hyperventilating. She was still worried about Jaune and Qrow but she focused. Focused on the words her mother had told her while thrusting the thing into her hands, on of the worst day of her life. Not moment,  **_day_ **

“Take  _ this _ . Tell everyone you’re a Valkyrie. The right people will find you. Forged in fire you will fly on a song to the heart of the crucible and find the truth.” Nora blinked away the tears she didn’t realize were falling. “My mother told me that. Her mother told  _ her _ that. And then she gave me this, but it was worn by the time I got it.” As she spoke Nora shakilly reached into her bra. She didn’t have a chain to attach it too, but she held the small rusted dog tag between trembling fingers. As Hilda stepped forward, Nora stepped back, tightly holding onto the tag. “Then she went and died. I’ve had this since I was about six. Don’t…. Don’t you  **_DARE_ ** try to doubt I’m a Valkyrie.”

“Jorge Saravad-Valkyrie.” Tyrian said with a smirk. “That’s what J something is.” He gave another manic chuckle. “I didn’t think I’d actually manage to  _ do _ it!!!” And he got worse and worse, spine shifting backwards at an impossible angle, tail whipping wildly. Ren tried to shift as far away from the monster as he could.

“What exactly is going on here?” Ren asked. Hilda turned her attention to him and cursed under her breath. 

“You mentioned another boy?” She asked him. Ren nodded as Hilda went over to swing her axe at him. She cleanly cut off his bonds and the brunette boy hopped off of the bars. “Tyrian?” He stopped laughing, instead chuckling softly as he forced himself back to a standing position ...well,  _ mostly _ standing. He was slumped over.

“The boy looks like Caspian, he’s fine. There was an older hunter that arrived late to try and save them. It failed. But I’d damaged them quite a bit so I brought them here for Kida” Her fingers went up to massage her temples. 

“Wonderful, you called the Mother of all annoyances and SHIT Do you all have a life he pulled you out of? What are we doing out here? Come on!” She turned on her heel and walked to the lived in looking house. The back of her coat could be seen as she did, a crimson sword with stars like blood surrounding it. As she moved it fluttered behind her like a cape. It was either follow her to the house or stay out there with Tyrian… both hunters practically sprinted after her, Tyrian following at a more sedate pace. 

The inside of the house was mostly spartan. The woman took ‘only the essentials’ to the extreme. There was a single high table with enough stab wounds in it that it was a wonder that it was still able to hold anything, and two chairs on either side of it. The couch looked uncomfortable and hard though there was a small personal library in a nearby bookcase. There was a glomly grey threadbare rug tossed on the ground almost as if someone had given it as an unwelcome gift. Two end tables flanked the couch. There was a basket of tattered clothing and patches along with a thread and multiple needles. Through a small window in the wall a large kitchen could be seen. Strangely, at least with what could be seen through the window, it seemed like a lot of kitchen space was for dust. Why did you need dust in the kitchen? There was also a teapot that could be seen. A small fireplace was the centerpiece of the room, on its mantle, an oversized jar. And above the mantle, the largest picture. A much younger Hilda stood overjoyed on the side of a stern looking redheaded woman with the same cheekbones as Tyrian. The woman was in a wedding dress as was the much shorter dark haired woman with gold eyes her mouth was firmly shut in fearful anticipation. The dark haired woman marrying them looked genuinely amused. On the other side of the house from the kitchen was a short hallway that presumably led to a bedroom as well as the addition to the house, whatever it was. The only non essential thing the woman had, and in spades-were pictures. Every free spot had a framed photo or something or other. The walls couldn’t be  _ seen _ with all of the pictures that hung up. A few of them were paintings, a LOT more were pictures. The paintings were of a younger looking Hilda and two redheaded girls. 

“Have a seat” She said and indicated the couch. Tyrian came in and sat down on the far chair, his tail fitting into one of the stab wounds on the table as he gave little mad chuckles, trying and failing to hold them back. “We don’t have a lot of time. Would you like tea?” Ren and Nora sat on the couch, looking at Hilda and waiting for information. Hilda went to the jar on the mantle and opened it to sift through the dust.

Ren looked at Tyrian, mostly at the picture on the wall right behind his head. A dark haired toddler with a sort of slipper to cap his tail toddled towards a younger looking Hilda, her arms out and a blinding grin on her face, caught laughing. She had most likely just won the competition with the dark haired woman halfway out of the frame. It was hard to tell with the lack of makeup, but yeah, she was one of the brides from the photo. She was also laughing, the curly haired loser, letting the pincers inside of her mouth be seen. There was one more figure in the picture. Also a redhead, she was around the age of the dark haired Faunus woman and so _much_ younger then Hilda. Wait ...her hair had been up in the wedding photo. Now it hung down in a severe braid much like Tyrian’s...or Tyrian’s was like hers. Though grinning, the woman with the long braid wasn’t laughing, her outstretched arms meant that she’d either been a part of the competition or the one to release the determined looking toddler. Magenta eyes darted around to the pictures and saw quite a few like that. It was hard to tell on a chubby cheeked smiling toddler, but as a small child the rudimentary axe blades rested on the forearms and tail raised in a rough defense. Tyrian growing up. _Bad_ _News_. He grabbed Nora’s hand and squeezed. She caught on to the terror in his eyes.

“If you don’t mind, We’ve really got to get out of here.” She smiled tightly. “I beat your test, I’m a Valkyrie, can we just get our friends and leave?” Hilda smiled sadly as she found what she was looking for and carefully cleaned the dust back into the jar. 

“I’ll get you all out as quickly as I can. Your friends are going to be a  **_lot_ ** more difficult sugar lump. But I can protect you. You just have to trust me.” 

“You are related to Tyrian.” Ren grit out, staring hard at her as if she was going to try to lie about the simple fact. Instead she nodded. 

“He’s my Grandson.” And Ren’s free hand creeped toward StormFlower. They couldn’t beat these two, but a shot to the pictures might cause enough chaos to get out of here and find Jaune. She walked over and produced…. Nora’s face went ashen. It had a lot more words on it, but she could easily recognize the matching dog tag to the one clutched in her hand. “He’s also her uncle. Well…  _ great _ uncle.” 

“ **_W ….WHAT!!_ ** !”Nora was currently having…...a  _ minor _ breakdown. Because WHAT! 

“I finally did it NANA!” Tyrian was nearly vibrating. “I did what you asked! I brought you a GREAT GRANDCHILD! Please stop  _ nagging _ me about it” He gave a mad cackle as Hilda calmly and casually turned to  **smack him upside the head** . Tyrian for his part just yelped overdramatically and cradled the impact zone with a grin, his laughter growing softer but not actually stopping. Hilda rolled her eyes and smirked at his actions, but turned her attention back to Nora.

“I can get you and your friends out of here. But You have to stay for a little bit and  _ trust me _ . If you don’t you’ll be trapped here forever. Besides, you wanted to find Crucible and the truth didn’t you?” This was…..torture. This was active torture. She’d wanted a family for so long and it was  _ Tyrian _ and this...this weird lady? “I’ll tell you all the truth you want” Hilda had a trustworthy looking smile on her face. “I’m just so glad to meet you. I thought for sure-” 

There was a high pitched beeping sound coming from her wrist. She had one of those watches too! Three buttons like Tyrian; purple, blue, and a target mark. She tapped the top of it to answer and groaned. 

“What do you want woman I’m  _ busy! _ ”

“I am retrieving those two children Tyrian walked off with and if they are dead I will be even more upset. They will go to Temporary Housing as is protocol! Kida has just called me to remind me of them. Caspien is upset, as is ...Qrow?”

“Child _ren_? He brought me my Great Granddaughter” Hilda’s face is carefully blank. “Maybe you  _ thought _ it was two?” 

“No no, Kida said two.” Hilda stomped her foot, but didn’t let her face change. 

“Well then I’ll have to find the other one. I’ll go look” She cut the connection and cursed again. “You  _ have  _ to trust me” She said looking directly at Ren. “It won’t take her long to get here. Go hide in the house next to mine. When you hear her, come out and say ‘I am so sorry for the actions of the errand boy. I must go to temporary housing.’ Then give her your weapons.”

“How do I know anything you say is anything I can-”

“We don't have _ time _ . Just trust me. Unless of course you _ want _ an experience that insures your life will never be the same” Ren sighed deeply. WOW. That was the most flirty ...she had the same voice thing. 

“I trust that you are related to Nora because that is the single most NORA way to badly word something I've ever heard” He got up to obey the order. 

“When you get to Temporary Housing, there is a woman named Kida. She is a sweetheart, but you can only take what she actually says. She can’t tell a lie to save her life so she avoids what she can’t answer. Only take breakfast from her and don’t eat any meat while there. Turn the radio on in the day and learn a few songs to sing along to when she sees you. Only ask for your friend once you are in your cell and if you ever want to leave don’t fight any orders. If you sleep, do so with earplugs, but try not to. Read the pamphlets and memorize the rules. You can see Nora soon. Go!” And Ren left to go into the other house and wait. “Nora, sit at the table with Tyr.” Nora flinched. Hilda sighed. What had her problem child done this time? This situation had to be handled as delicately as she could manage …. So she stamped her foot hard enough to shake the house and barked out “NOW!” Nora, terrified, scrambled to move as Tyrian threw his head back in manic laughter. With Tyrian laughing in the background Hilda pressed a button on her watch. There was a knock on the door as it was answered. Nora had moved just in time. 

“Hilda!” The woman from earlier.

“There’s a few surprises here. Grab some more chairs, but be  **here** for dinner” The message delivered, Hilda opened the door but planted herself in the doorway so that all Mother could see was the missing girl sitting with a smiling Tyrian.“Hello there. Just spending time with my Grandkids!” Mother’s face screwed up in anger. 

“This is against protocol. He may not bend the rules as he wishes. I have half a mind to-”

“Hello?” Mother spun on her heel to look down at the boy behind her. The second one! She snarled in rage when he spoke. “I greatly apologize for the actions of the Errand Boy. I should be in temporary housing. That’s the protocol is it not?” She didn’t seem to notice Ren’s trepidation, but some of the anger faded from her face as she took StormFlowers from his shaking hands and gave them to her. Rather than softening her features, she looked odd without the anger. Not content, not calm...just vaguely uncomfortable over not being angry. She tucked the weapons beneath her bustle. 

“What a polite young man. Yes. That is protocol. Please follow me.” She turned on her heel and left, Ren following behind. He gave Nora one last look. “What did you say your name was?” 

“Ren ma’am.    
“ _ Ren _ . My name is Mother. I hope you love it here.” Ren nodded, a tight smile on his face. He didn't like blind faith, but he  _ needed  _ to do this.


	5. The world is a bit...odd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters have line breaks to signal scene changes. These changes can be just scenes, time, or both. It's up to you to descramble. Why? Well...what's happening matters no matter the order, but the order may change perceptions.

Qrow could see why Jaune screamed like he was being murdered. He’d lived through worse, but that was an unfortunate fact of his semblance, not a brag of any kind. He felt  _ her _ and she wasn’t a good feeling. A brutal searing pain as his body tried to cope with aura that WAS NOT HIS overriding his own soul and letting hers  _ in _ , tearing his soul and ripping it to shreds even as her aura fixed his, reactivating and revitalizing it. It was like washing your skin with acid that did its job of ripping away all impurities. It worked wonders, but  _ damn  _ the cost was high. He could feel her aura, and feel that she herself was trying to make it better than it had to be. Bright blue blinding searing screeching  **_PAIN_ ** didn’t rip the bullets out so much as inquisitively nudge them, consume them, and disintegrate them. Neat party trick even as each of the affected areas screamed like he was being shot a thousand times over. A groan escaped his throat while she painfully and  _ gently  _ nudged the box back together, smoothing over the bruises with fire as she did so. And she  _ spread _ . Though she didn’t move her hands he felt ice so cold it burned apologetically searing together ruined nerves that had been fried by lightning. All at once her aura was gone, leaving him cold and with a rush of adrenaline filled energy. He didn’t feel  _ great _ more like he’d managed to finish a harsh workout that went on for far too long. 

“It’s not often people grin and bear that.” She’d pulled away, kneeling gently as she softly gasped in a vain attempt to catch her breath. Qrow sat up as looked down at the woman, noting that-save for some soreness he was alright. “You were really hurt. It’ll take at  _ least _ two more hits before you’re up to snuff.” 

“That’s gotta be the weirdest health semblance ever. Hits like a train.” He grumbled. Kida’s eyes lit up even as she stayed on the floor. 

“I KNOW WHAT THAT IS! Tyrian told me about it. It moves as quickly as a lesser grimm and it’s BIG! Big like ...hmmmm. Like the Sphinx you came in on, only as long as one of the tunnels!” His eyebrow rose. 

“Yeah kinda, a lil bigger than the Grimm. Have you never seen a train before?” He wasn’t  _ stupid _ . He was trapped here and his three options were  _ Tyrian _ , bitch, and hopeful idiot. Ding ding ding we have a  _ Winner _ . “I can tell you more about it. No problem.” Her face lit up again and she started to rise. Qrow was already thinking of how to work her over. She seemed pretty gullible and nice on top of it. She had some pull evidenced by the fact she was a ‘Mother’s little helper’ and close enough to the top to call ‘Mother’ and get shit done. All he had to do was play nice. 

“I would LOVE to hear more!! Oh but ...” He didn’t let the frown slip onto his face. “Late Lunch today. Even  _ later _ . I’ve been running around so much it’ll be dinner before anyone’s fed.” She shook her head. “Are you hungry too? My semblance takes a bit out of people, but I’ve heard I’m a good cook!” 

“Sure thing. So long as ya keep me company.” Kida frowned slightly at that. 

“I mean, I have to feed  _ everyone  _ in Temp. And there was a delivery the other day. I’ll be running for awhile. I’ll be back with food. OH! And I’ll figure out about ‘Ren’ myself so you get two reports rather than the one!” Qrow resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She was trying, emphasis on the  _ try _ part. And it was better to stay on the good side of the best person they’d met so far. 

“That’s so nice of you Kidds. Can I call ya Kidds?” He made his voice rough and low in the way that tended to get him free drinks and she giggled just like the barmaids back home. Nice, he had an in. 

“I’ve gotta go make lunch and bring it to everyone. But I’ll talk to  _ you” _ she flicked his nose. “As soon as I can” Another giggle and she was opening the door. Qrow didn’t rush it or her. Something told him that’d be ‘against the rules’ and he didn’t know how far away Psycho Mama happened to be, after all she'd only just walked down the hall with Jaune in tow. 

* * *

“OHHHH. _You_ are _new._ Well, New to rotation at least” Ren looked up at the giggling woman and reached over to turn off the radio.   
“I have only been here an hour and twenty minutes. And most of that time was spent meditating. My name is Ren.” It was impossible to shake her hand through the glass so he just nodded at her, but she jumped up and down. 

“YOU’RE REN!” She gasped. “Oh! Qrow Branwen has been  _ asking  _ about you nonstop! But…” She looked him over. “The way he spoke, I thought for sure you were injured.” She opened the door to come in and Ren forced himself to lower his guard. The last thing he needed was to automatically assault this woman.

“I was poisoned yes. Tyrian fixed me.” The woman locked up in thinly veiled terror. “He is currently with my partner and his grandmother.” She brightened up again

“AH! The Hilda has him! Than he’s as harmless as he can be. I actually need to see him for…” Her eyes went wide and she broke eye contact. “For” Her voice was pitched too high and she let out a nervous and cracked sounding giggle. “FOR NOTHING! I mean...ummm, Yeah whatever it is is….ya know NOTHING!” Huh. That was a way to pinpoint a lie.

“ _ You _ must be Kida" Ren mused as she put down a plate of chicken salad and a glass of water.

“YES! I’m The Healer! I usually have to introduce myself. Mother must have told you about me. She's thoughtful that way " Ren hummed. He hadn't gotten 'thoughtful' from the woman. She'd locked him in this very nice cell (though a quick look through the books indicated he shouldn’t call it as such) and told him that it was protocol he stayed there until such a time he'd been deemed as 'not a danger'. She'd also mentioned that it would be a short stay from his politeness and got  **very** upset when he asked about Jaune, stalking off muttering about liars and betrayers. While not 'thoughtful' her bringing the blonde back in short order meant that at the very least she was honest, if easily angered. 

“If you'll excuse me."Kida looked back at him with a smile. "I was unconscious when I was brought here. What happened?" Her eyes widened and she looked  _ past _ him, to the cart of food before she turned to him again. 

“I don't have time right now to explain. I've got to get everyone fed. But I'll come back when I'm done with the deliveries and tell you everything I know!" There wasn't a crack, creek, stutter, or stumble in her voice that time. She was telling the truth.

“Alright then. Please hurry back." She gave him a bright smile and then ran off. He ignored the food, turning back on the radio to use it as backup notice as he read and meditated on the pamphlet. The rules here were…..  _ Interesting _ . They told him a lot about this place but he'd likely need to go to Worship to learn  **everything** . And apparently that was mandatory. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to learn

* * *

“Mr. Brawen?” He looked up and resisted the urge to frown. Kida was back with a lil cart and trays of food. Jaune wasn’t back yet. He highly doubted the kid was talking to Ren for an hour.. “Lunch delivery. You just happen to be on the way. I’m still checking on Ren for you. I saw him for a moment and he seems alright, but I’ll be right back with more information, as soon as I feed everyone. Back away from the wall please!” His eye twitched, but he nodded and let her come in. He was good for throwing a punch, but it’d be useless if Whip Bitch came back and he’d lose his in. Kida put down his plate on the table and left him with a glass of water.

“What, no beer?” It was only half joking. Quitting cold turkey was  **_hard_ ** . And he….it was his fault the kids were captured. He should’ve flown up and got Jimmy or something. His semblance must have activated in excess to make up for Clover pushing it down before. Or he’d forgotten how awful it was ...or he’d been so drunk before he didn’t care. His head hurt spinning the story, but it was somehow his fault, he knew it. And he could use something strong to wash those thoughts down with. 

“You aren’t the first one to ask about that actually.” Kida giggled. “I’ll add your vote for a dispensary For now, water.” She smiled at him as she left. “I suggest listening to the radio. The people that ask for a dispensary are usually frustrated or sad. I find music very relaxing. Be back soon” Qrow nodded and turned on the radio to appease her before looking at the food. He wasn’t _stupid_. This was Tyrian’s home and if Kida was on the Salem _she didn’t even know what a train was_ to crazy town the whole town was nuts. Fucking, water with a chiken salad. How healthy can ya _get._ He’d seen enough movies to know what was up. Whatever was wrong with this place was in the water supply. It explained why they were all nuts. Welp, he wasn’t gonna buy it. Qrow pushed the water to the other side and also the red looking pulpy stuff smearing the salad. The chicken was probably the only thing _safe_ to eat. And he _did_ need to keep up his strength so that when he got to the kids and Harbinger he could get them all out safely. 

* * *

“You...You didn’t eat?” Ren looked up from the book he was reading to see that Kida was back outside the glass and looked concerned. 

“I am not hungry. And besides that, I am a vegetarian.” He’d spent half of his childhood homeless and running with Nora. He could handle missing a few meals. With the explanation Kida calmed down. 

“Veg-i-tar-ian?” She sounded it out as if she’d only heard the term in passing. “That means you can’t eat plants or it may hurt you?”

“It means that if I eat meat I will end up horribly sick. There are also personal moral reasons for not consuming the flesh of an animal.” A light went off in her face. 

“Ah! I understand, but why not eat the salad itself?” She seemed genuinely curious. But she was also actively trying to poison him for reasons he understood more about as he read.

“The meat was touching the salad.” And so he did not trust any of it. Hilda hadn’t set off his danger sense and none of her advice was something that could actively kill him so why not play along? “You also mentioned that you would explain more to me as I was previously unconscious.”

“OH! Oh yes of course!” Kida smiled widely, but looked at his bowl first. “I just have to make you lunch. You can’t go without EATING! Be right back!”

* * *

Jaune quickly came to. All at once he was on his feet ready to attack someone, something. Ready to...well, fight for his freedom. He then calmed down as he remembered exactly where he was. Reevaluate. Ren was fine, he’d seen him to know that he was alright. Qrow was fine and in the capable care of Kida. Nora was allegedly okay but in a strange situation. And Temporary Housing was…..he swung his feet over to sit up. He’d been gently placed in a pile of scratchy cloth. Blue eyes darted around what seemed to be a storeroom of some kind. He slowly got up to look around. It was used for holding rags and bolts of fabric and there was a mop and a broom in the corner, but it was dark save for the thin sliver of light shining from the frame of a closed door. This was ...not the first time he’d woken up in some weird place. Seven sisters, he’d stopped getting actually scared maybe the twelfth time this had happened. Probably not good. His cousin Carrion was able to kidnap him for a whole afternoon and he hadn’t freaked out as a kid. But there was no more hiding. He creeped towards the door and pressed his ear against it to hear…..  _ Singing _

“ _ They all go to hunt your Grimm wastin their time. But Goddess you know, I’m a Devotee _ ” Yeah, some guy was softly singing to himself. “Oh?...Hey Kida, what’da ya want?” Jaune creeped back from the door. If Kida was around, then he was still in Temporary Housing. But what had….. He was talking to Ren…. and ‘Mother’ had gotten upset….. And now he was in a storage closet he couldn’t remember seeing. What had knocked him out though? He couldn’t remember a fight. He looked around. High walls, rags everywhere? Piles of tree bark? What on Remnant? He squinted around to try and see if there was a way out…..then he noticed the quiet. The voice wasn’t speaking, instead there were heavy footsteps approaching the door. Jaune did the logical action of scrambling back into the bundles of cloth to hide. The door opened and there was an instant of light. Hidden as he was, Jaune thought nothing of it when, after a minute or two, the door swung shut. Jaune counted in his head for another five minutes, before letting out the breath he’d been holding. 

“That was a close one” Jaune muttered to himself as he sat up…… and proceded to hit his  _ head _ on the person that was watching him.

“OWWW! OW That is one  _ HARD _ head ya got there. Lemmie guess, you get in trouble a lot. Me too!” Jaune scrambled back from…. what he could only perceive as a ridiculously tall male voiced, slim shadow. 

“WHY DID YOU COME IN TO STARE AT ME IN THE DARK!!!” 

“DUDE! I wanted to know why you were just hangin out here in the dark! I know when you woke up. Mother’s effects compound based on how long she was touching you. I know how fast she walks and how far it is from Temp Housing. Also, you make a  _ lot  _ of noise.” The shadow shook his head. “So,  _ ya gonna head on out  _ or… we just gonna sit in here for awhile?” Jaune glared at the man, unsure if he could be seen, before swinging his legs over again. The shadow, tall and fast, jerked from his feet. “Come on!” He sounded friendly as he pushed open the door, revealing in the light that some of that height was a tophat. 

“So...who are you?” Jaune asked as he followed the man out of the storeroom and into a long hallway. 

“Bren-Hey, grab a blanket. You’ll need it. Have you had lunch yet? I know Kida was about to serve but like, you’re either special or in trouble if you get food brought to you. We can take a breather from making paper for me to get ya some food.” He hummed as he mussed. “Or you can have my leftovers if you’re not super hungry. I don’t eat a lot so there’s like, half a bowl of soup and an apple.” Jaune blinked at the guy. That was like… four different subjects in ten seconds. 

“You’re Brendon aren’t you” Jaune’s voice was equal parts confused and resigned to his fate. How  _ did _ he always end up with the super hyper one? And this time there was no Ren to temper it. 

“Righto kiddo! I’m your official ‘How to be Caspian’ Tutor” Brendon spun around as he spoke and it was only then that Jaune noticed just how  _ odd _ this guy was. The top hat was covered in gears, as was the suit jacket he wore. The...very,  _ very  _ old fashioned suit jacket. Jaune blinked twice. Suits didn’t change  _ much _ through the years, but that thing had  _ tails _ and only one button and enormous lapels. The hell? Brendon’s eyes were lined in thick black eyeliner, odd since Mother had on makeup, smokey eyes and red lipstick, but Kida was bare faced. He’d thought it was some sort of status thing. But Kida and Brendon were assumedly at the same level. 

“You look confused.” Rather than be  _ nice  _ at all, the jerk was grinning at him, as if delighted by his confusion. “You look like you have QUESTIONS! Come on, come on, come on! Hit me. Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on here!” All valid questions, but the fact that Brendon was being so over the top and mocking with them meant that Jaune didn’t want to ask a  _ single _ of those questions. He instead, went the other way. 

“Why are their  _ goggles _ on your hat?” For a moment it seemed like he lost Brendon. The other man’s smile fell as his eyes widened. Jaune almost went to check and see if the floor was falling away underneath him. He may have actually  _ broken  _ a person. Then, all at once Brendon was laughing so hard that he was  _ crying _ . Unworried and overjoyed at such a ridiculous question. 

“Oh this is gonna be EASY!!!! No  _ wonder _ she skipped you outta TH. Just stick with me. I’ll make sure you don’t fuck up the rules.” Brendon was still laughing, snorting as he shook his head. "I mean you have a special set of  _ Caspien _ Rules on top of the real rules, but you seem like you catch on quick. Just keep doing that and you’re  _ gold _ .” Jaune didn’t really know what to say to that. Luckily, his stomach rumbled. “Oh dude! Leftovers! Comeon” Brendon turned abruptly, swinging open a door and going through. He gestured for Jaune to follow. Jaune paused, there was a redheaded man in a torn and patched white suit walking down the hall. The blonde moved to let the man go through the doorway first.

“Well funny you ended up here blondie. Where’s Lil Red and the Pretty Kitty?” Jaune blinked. The man was looking directly at him, but his green eyes were distant and unfocused. The eyeliner unfortunately,  _ highlighted _ the issue. 

“Do I... _ know  _ you?” Jaune asked. The man tilted his head, foggy eyes trailing up and down Jaune more firmly before a giggle was startled out of him. 

“So sorry. I’m thinking of another blonde. Around the same age. But  _ he _ wouldn’t be caught dead in a shirt.” 

“Oh….Okay.” The man reared up and held out a hand. “Oh, My name’s Jau-”

“His name’s  _ Caspien  _ Ro” Brendon called. Jaune frowned slightly. Okay then. And the man chuckled and shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you Caspien. My name is Roman”

* * *

Kida rushed to the kitchens. She'd been telling the truth before she really  _ was  _ running horribly late for lunch. It was a good late though. It was a 'she was distracted by things she liked' late rather than a 'there was so much nonsense she was running herself raggad' late. Though she wasn't sure poor Mr. Snow would see it that way. She checked her chart. Twenty five new people, twenty  _ seven  _ with Tyrian's additions, six people that were on time out for breaking a rule, seven now because of Mister Branwen, fifteen injuries-sixteen with Qrow, and two cases down in lockdown. Meaning she had to cook for… hmmm, best to round up to fifty in case anything  _ else  _ happened. Maybe steaks for dinner. They had to marinade in spices. Okay then, seared chicken salad for lunch it was! She pressed the black button on her watch and in the view screen the boyish good looks of one Brendon Urie showed up, all high cheekbones and porcelain skin and laughing expresso eyes.. 

“Hey Kida! Whatda ya want?” 

“BRENDON! Are you busy?” She batted her eyelashes at her fellow MLH. To the credit of both of them, she was the busiest and paired with the boy that had the least to do. Or he  _ would  _ be if Andy pulled his weight. 

“Whatda ya  _ need _ ?” He asked her at once, used to her random calls. “Though if you were calling to ask for meat, I counted the new people and left you eight chikens and two cows in The Pen.” 

“The goddess bless your soul THANK YOU!” Brendon chuckled and cut the connection with a wink. He was the  _ greatest.  _ Kida meanwhile went to The Pen, a small area next to the kitchens. The chickens were alive but Brendon had killed and skinned the cows for her. It was hanging in what had once been a containment unit off of an Altesian drop ship that had gotten too close. Now it was filled with ice dust and meat. She went in with her stone knife, carving uneven chunks of meat for dinner. Then she mixed seasoning. Salt, ground peppercorns, basil, allspice, rosemary, turmeric and some ginger. She mixed it all together and rubbed some on either side off all the stakes before she placed them on the counter space. Then she went to pluck and kill two chickens. 

  
It was easy to cook with dust on your side. Snap a neck, pluck, season, sear. She often poured seasoning down the throat and rubbed it on the outside before popping a few fire dust crystals inside the mouth of the bird. While the first was cooking she worked on the second and on getting the salad and bowls ready. Chicken was lunch and also easy to cook, unlike beef. The main problem was that their usual poison was that it only lasted two hours so she couldn’t just soak the chicken in it overnight. Tyrian’s poison was much more effective. She wondered how long his visit was and if he would be nice enough to refill her stores. She’d need to make her way over to The Hilda to ask. She reached up to the shelves and pulled down the bottle of yellow liquid. Once she seasoned the outside she poured a good chunk of poison down the chicken’s throat and closed the beak, shaking it for awhile. This particular poison spread throughout meat in a matter of seconds, so she didn’t really  _ need _ to shake. It just made her feel more comfortable. After about a minute she gave the bird a crystal of fire dust, allowing it to roast from the inside out as she crushed pomegranate seeds with a stone to make dressing.


	6. Some things just don't belong

Nora sat, trying not to shake too hard. She really,  _ really _ wished Ren could be here with her. But her lifeline had been sent away. She understood  **_why_ ** it had to happen. But she didn’t like it at all. The lady from before wasn’t angry right now. Not with Ren in her clutches. Still. She couldn't shake the sound of Qrow’s screaming from her mind. And now Tyrian was chuckling at her darkly as he sat across from her. He was leering and looming and her aura was close to depleted and he was leaning forward far too close to her and his fucking  _ tail  _ just waving behind him like a warning of what he could and would do to her if given the chance. He knew it too, the mania in his eyes dancing across the sharp angles of his face. She took shallow breaths, trying to drag herself out of her swiftly approaching panic. She had Mags again. If he attacked she could try to- 

“Tyrian” With a mad sounding cackle the man turned to look at Hilda, whose face was pulled into a frown. “Go rip away some health and come back when you’re more sane. You KNOW I don’t deal with your crazy over dinner.” That snapped him out of it. 

“Actually Nana, I was  _ just  _ making a delivery. I have to go back and complete my wonderful mission for the glo-”

“ARE YOU DISOBEYING ME!” He flinched at that. Apparently even crazy didn’t disobey Nana. Though with  _ this _ as a Nana….. 

“No Nana I was just”

“You were  _ just _ FOLLOWING ORDERS! Go steal some health and get back here so you can wash up for dinner!” Tyrian opened his mouth to protest, but the glare she gave him stopped his words in his throat. 

“Yes Ma’am. I’ll be right back.” His head even bowed as he got up. Woah.  _ Scary cool _ .

“That’s what I  **_THOUGHT_ ** ” Tyrian walked out of the door, pressing a different button on his watch as he did so to connect him with someone else. Nora couldn’t see the button as he moved, but she did register the voice coming from the watch as male. Hilda nodded at her. 

“He’ll be back soon. Would you like some tea or are you going to help me with dinner?” The question took her entirely off guard. 

“I...I don’t think I can eat right now?” Hilda raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused. How was she….. “Your grandson is a  _ monster _ . He’s a murderer and a  _ serial killer.  _ He kidnapped me by threatening to kill my friends and just drag me with him if I didn’t go. She scoffed.

"Your friends must have proven they'd be trouble if they were worried about you. Coward. He took the path of least resistance. Probably only fought long enough to cause you to panic and slip up. Didn't he?" Nora froze, only half because she was replaying the fight in her mind. No he had been ...toying with them.  _ Torturing  _ them. 

“Actually he kinda just kicked our asses.” She admitted heavily. “He didn’t stop until I said who I was. He  _ was _ trying to kill us fast, but more because he was…. On a time limit I think. And we were in his way.” Hilda nodded as if that all made sense. 

“Poor idiot likes to play with his food. He always has, even as a toddler. That’s how you know he’s playful. He either gets bored and  _ ends _ the kill like he was taught, or he has too much fun fucking with people. Tell me” She paused to recall. The dark haired boy had called her… “Nora. How do  _ you  _ eat?" The fuck kind of questionnaire. 

“I…. I’m not going to answer you until you give me some information.” Nora puffed up her chest. It should have been  _ easier _ to be defiant with Tyrian gone. But something about this lady seemed far more dangerous. Maybe it was the fact that this lady should’ve been around Maria’s age and was just as spry as Qrow. Maybe it was the fact that she was possibly related to her, else very old and delusional. Maybe it was because she could make mad men listen and obey her. Maybe because…. Because these were the answers she’d been searching for her whole life… and she was having second thoughts.

“Hmmm. Information exchange huh? Only useful if you wouldn’t give it up for anything else. I don’t need to give you information to get yours. What keeps me from breaking  **_bones_ ** until you tell me what I want to know? You have friends you know, or as I like to call them, walking weaknesses. What’s to stop me from using them?” Nora’s face froze in a mask of fear and Hilda smirked. “Untrained. Un _ disciplined _ . Everyone has weaknesses Sugar Lump. Don’t let the enemy know which ones are your real ones. Rookie mistake. What’s to keep me from calling Tyr and leaving your friends bloody pulps eh?” Nora scrambled, her brain coming up with something…..

“Tyrian was looking for me. He was so happy to bring me to you, but it’s all for nothing if I end up hating you. And I will if you hurt me or my friends. I’ll hate you. Not to mention, you need my information to know if we’re related. You’d be a lot more devastated than me judging by how happy he was!” Hilda’s contonance darkened. Her face hardened and she crossed her arms. If she wanted to fight, Nora wouldn’t go down easy. The younger redhead was shaking. This was the edge of a cliff that once she fell down… she’d never be able to see the light again. Tyrian… Tyrian  _ Callows _ ? Did she really wanna do this? 

“EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION I  **_LOVE_ ** IT!” Hilda wiped a tear from her eye, laughing mightily. “You’ve got Gusto kid. What did you wanna know” That…..it was that easy? Apparently so since Hilda had raised an eyebrow and was looking at her expectantly. ……

“WHO ARE YOU! What is this place? Are my friends Ok? What did Tyrian mean ‘Great Grandchild’ Where’d you come from? Who’s Jorge? What does ‘Tell them to Make it count’ even mean? WHAT THE HECK was that Riddle supposed to mean? Why is this city hidden? Why is there a statue of  _ SALEM _ in the square? Who’s the scary whip lady? Where’s temporary housing?” Nora stopped, not because she’d run out of questions, but she’d run out of breath, panting slightly from the exertion of spilling all of that at once. Hilda scoffed. 

“And you claimed you can’t sit down for dinner. Come on, help me put it on the table.”

“It’s like...four o clock.” Hilda scoffed.

“Well we have to cook it now don’t we? Luckily I keep bread mix on hand, a sourdough. But we still have to go get the vegetables and grind the herbs and stop by the butcher now don’t we?” The Axe went back on her back. “Come on. We’ll walk and talk as I show you around and tell you who you can trust. Short answer, very few people.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Oi _ Papi _ !” The man, about thirty looking at him and ruggedly handsome, turned his scarred face to the teenager that had called him. “You’re fallin behind” She giggled. He shook his head, but stood, knees a little sore from the walk. Crucible had multiple ways to get in, but only one  _ real _ way to get out. It was insane. Hilda had designed the tunnels so they had quick changes and hidden passes and at certain points of the day they seemed to lead to other places from tricks of the light. No matter how much time he went through the tunnels they remained a convoluted mystery. All for the best, since this was supposed to be a  _ hidden  _ city, he could count on her to be more than thorough…..even if she was a bit  _ crazy _ .

“Audrey you’re just running ahead” The man laughed. Audrey, sixteen and overzealous scoffed, wiping her mouth from lunch as she continued the near vertical climb up the steepest tunnel. “Is this even the right way?” That made the teen stop and do a little bit of counting on her hand. She frowned at whatever she’d come up with, then groaned. With a wave of her hand, her semblance carved a new path out of the rock, one a little flatter and headed to the left. 

“Shortcut!” She declared, hopping ship to the new path, the man shaking his head as he traveled behind her. “Comon Papi, I know you’re  _ old  _ but GEEZ!” The man just rolled his eyes again.

“I’m pretty sure you’re keeping me young from pure force of will” He told the pigtailed teen, he rubbed his knees. He was a bit older than he looked. Sometimes moving too much...his muscles weren’t always the biggest supporters. He’d fix it. For now, he followed the grinning teen up to the surface. She was sure to destroy the path she’d made as the two approached a figure. The woman was looking to the sky and away from the two, but always ready for a fight. She wore a tight black sleeveless top with sort of harem pants, there was gold outlining the arm holes and collar of the shirt, as well as the sash she wore being gold. She turned slightly, letting her mistrali style buttons be seen as she looked at them,  _ hearing  _ them approach. 

“YO NAHARA!!!!” Audrey ran forward to hug her sister. Nahara gave a one armed hug to her little sis, but her other arm went to accept a hug from the man. 

“Hello DD, Hey Sir” She had the same cool honey skin as the younger girl and the same eye shape, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Audrey was so short her trusty wrench was a little taller than half her height, Nahara  _ towered _ even barefoot as she was. Where Audrey’s fluffy black hair rested just below her shoulders, Nahara’s golden braid traveled down to her waist, even if it was usually tossed over a shoulder. Even their styles. Audrey had roughly made blue overalls shoved into oversized black boots. She had a matching denim cap and thick beige gloves, unsurprisingly she was filthy, dirt coated her clothes in a layer of dust and the corner of her mouth still had some mustard on it from lunch. Nahara was pristine. “Why’d it take you so long to get back?” 

“ _ Papi  _ got lost!” Audrey giggled. The man bristled, head half singing into the full suit he wore. The heaviness of his steps was probably what Nahara heard.

“Firstly, I did not. Secondly, I’d say that we’re late because  _ someone  _ felt the need to avoid town square and her promise.” The red glow was barely visible on Audrey’s cheeks, but the tip of her right ear poked through and it was nearly  _ glowing _ . 

“I jus’ didn’t wanna go to get the meat. The counter  _ stares _ ” Nahara frowned. 

“You  _ do  _ realize that you had full protection right?” Nahara asked. Audrey flinched.

“I do…..just…. I didn’t want to run the risk. Not while  _ he’s _ around Besides, Crazy Bitch might be around" Nahara looked around

"Are you  _ trying _ to get sent to Temporary Housing?! You can't say that."

"Chill sis. Mother don't come out this far, not this late. When's the LAST time she moved her schedules around eh?"Nahara looked up at something just behind Audrey's head, sharp gold eyes catching something unseen by the others.

"She's moving it today. A Grimm just flew in. We're not expecting any deliveries. I  _ checked _ ." Audrey and the man both turned to look at the now empty spot in the sky. Uh Oh

* * *

As it turned out, there were tunnels all over the place. The Barrack area only had the one lead in but Hilda walked them up a split leading out and now they were going somewhere completely different. Nora didn’t want to get too close to crazy whip mama so, that worked. 

“My Full Name. Is Brunhilda Valkyrie-Romanova. That is mostly a lie.” And instantly lost. Were Great Grandmas supposed to be quite this vague?

“ _ Really _ ?” Nora grumbled, shifting the basket she held instead of her hammer. Hilda gave a warm chuckle. 

“Impatient aren’t you? But…. I suppose I’m not much better. Especially when kept waiting.” Hilda gave a hum, figuring out an even more bare bones way to tell it. “I was married to a man named Nikolai Romanoff- so my married name was Romanova. However, that was a lie in my heart. Nikolai pulled a few dirty tricks to make me marry him but I stayed with my lover, the man I was _ supposed _ to marry and the father of my twins. So my lies were on paper you see.” Nora nodded. 

“How did you end up  **_here_ ** ” Hilda scoffed again. 

“That idiot thought that he could  _ force _ me to love him. In his  _ ridiculous _ attempts, he poisoned my daughter Helga to make her ill and ran off to this place, far from everything I cared about.” She paused as the tunnel they were in suddenly got very steep. She had to crawl up and into the tunnel that started in the wall. “This isn’t the way but it circumvents a very annoying man.” And so Nora followed her, army crawling up the hole for a bit and they popped out in an ENORMOUS garden. 

“ _ WOW _ ” The place was a verifiable rainbow of food. There were even different sections for different things. Nora took two steps forward towards what looked to be ten individual square groves of trees all growing different fruits. She could identify bananas, Mangos, coconuts, avocados, apples, and that was just what she saw from the entrance! She looked down to the neat rows of root vegetables poking up from the ground only about a foot from the hole they’d emerged from. Hilda looked around.

“Perfect. No sign of him. Grab some potatoes, beets and carrots. Then let’s head over for mangos and apples.” Nora startled, but went to obey. 

“How and  _ why  _ is there so much FOOD down here!” Nora grabbed a few potatoes for the basket, but instinct had her tucking a few into her pockets, her stomach growling with never fully forgotten hunger. 

“An abundance of plant dust.” Hilda shrugged. “The same way my family used to grow things. “Not to mention that  _ all  _ the dust here, not just the plant dust, is  _ incredibly  _ potent. Almost as soon as something is picked, it’s been replaced. 

“Yes, it will be” Nora jumped at the clear and bell-like tone. A  _ very _ large Faunus woman went to replant the row of potatoes she’d taken, the seeds located in a pouch around her waist. “For that reason, food is very plentiful here.” Nora couldn’t  _ stop  _ staring, because the woman was...well, there could be a majority of features that Faunus could have but. 

“You….how do you get around like that!?” The woman was at least a good sport as Nora pointed. From her hips down, her feature was…. a  _ snake tail _ . 

“Well, that’s not the worst reaction I’ve received by far. You must be new here.” Hilda snorted at that. “My name is Avalon.” Nora blinked herself out of her stupor to give a proper handshake. 

“N- Nora.” Avalon chuckled. She was stunningly pretty, Her hair and skin was alabaster white, same as some of the spots on her black tail. Unfortunately, said tail was reminiscent of ...well, a King Taijitu.The comparison wasn’t made any better by the fact that the woman had wine colored eyes. But she seemed…..  _ Harmless _ so…. “You run the gardens?” Nora asked conversationally. Hilda wandered off to go get the mangoes so she couldn’t have been too terribly worried.

“Oh Goddess no! I just work here.” She chuckled. “I normally do the orchards due to my height, but I finished my section.” She shifted to show off the bag bursting with apples that she had on her shoulder. “I was helping Sam with seeding. He’s very recently gained a limp. Would you like to help? It’s a bit difficult for me to get between the rows.” Nora looked down to see that the seeds hadn’t quite landed in the holes. Avalon was staying off of the carrots in the row next to her, tail almost sideways to prevent hurting them. Nora ducked down to help put the seeds in the actual holes and covered them with dirt as she did so. Before she rose Avalon handed her some plant dust, which she placed in the ground at the designated spot. The whole row started to pulse a gentle green and in their light the woman’s black blouse of velvet and crimson red corset made her look even  _ more _ Grimmlike. Grimm should  _ never  _ be allowed to have cleavage that amazing. It was like putting  _ Yang _ in a sweetheart necked corset. Nora took a deep breath and taped it down! 

“So…..why are  _ you  _ here?” She must get treated pretty well, there was a statue of  _ Salem _ in the square. Avalon frowned.

“I was running. Well ...in a manner of speaking.” She gestured to her tail with a wry grin. “People… when they want to be, can be quite cruel. My coloring doesn’t make it any easier. They called me Grimm Spawn. And those were the ones nice enough to  _ only  _ hurl insults. They tried…” And her hand shakes slightly, as she automatically covers her tail well, the space where her tail merged into her skin. Nora squinted as she saw faded scar marks littering the area. “Anyway. I was wandering to close and a scout saw me. They call me blessed here. It…. it’s a nice change of pace…. It’s a nice place to be if you let it.

“Avalon are you done! Vanallopie can’t reach the peach trees.” Her head swiveled to the man calling her, and with a smile she turned back to Nora. 

“It was very nice meeting you, but duty calls. I’m the best situated to climb up and grab the stranglers.” With that the faunus waved and slithered back to where she’d been before. As Nora picked up her basket she noticed that a few shiny apples had found their way inside. Coolness. Well, other than their nutzo leader, the people seemed nice enough if Kida and Avalon were any indication. And there was  _ food _ here. She got the carrots she needed to get and looked up to try and find Hilda…. Whom was standing very close by with her own basket of mangoes, chilli peppers, and some weird green leafy things Ren would probably be able to identify long before she could.

“If you’re done making friends?” 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you were back.” Hilda chuckled warmly. 

“You’re fine my dear.” Hilda’s smile was more like a smirk. “Any other questions?” She asked, giving Nora a tiny hip check as they walked towards the rows of berries. 

“So….So Helga got poisoned and you came here. You said  _ twins? _ How’d your daughters get sent to Vale?” Wait no, that was assuming that…. “I mean,  _ MY  _ grandma was from Vale. I know that. And you haven’t told me what Temporary Housing is, or what they’re gonna do to my team. And  _ why  _ is everything a tunnel and Avalon seems nice but you said not to trust anyone so why leave me alone with her!” Helga listened to her ramble with a soft smile and Nora had to tear her eyes away cause even  _ looking  _ at the woman was too weird cause she looked like they were related but if she was related then Nora was also related to…. It was… odd. She was viewing this without actually viewing it. Mostly cause if she stopped to fully process it then it meant that she was related to Tyri-NOPE! Nuh uh Valkyrie. Don’t even finish the  _ thought.  _

“When we pass by the square I’ll point out the tunnel that goes to Temporary Housing. Unfortunately, visiting is highly restricted. You should see your friend again in about a week. Two if he doesn’t listen to me and, if he’s  _ remarkably  _ stupid...” She sighed heavily. “I’ll have to talk to Tyr about it. But I’ll try not to let them drive your boys crazy.”

“Crazy?” Nora asked. Hilda plucked a few strawberries for the baskets, and popped one of them into Nora’s mouth. 

“You’re no use to me starved to death. And yes, crazy. Your friend looked thin enough to manage a week without much food or sleep.” 

“So you just ….let them  _ take _ him! They’re gonna what!?” In Nora’s panic a NeverMore flew right in her face. She tightened her grip on the basket, body locking up in preparation for a fight. The bird wasn’t the only one. Creeps seemed to materialize around her, snapping to attention at her fear. Hilda’s heavy arm grabbed her pulling her close.

“We work a bit backwards.” The older woman told her. “The Grimm are harmless here. Trust me”

“You know you say that a  **_LOT_ ** lady” Nora hissed back. “And your grandson tried to kill me and my friends twice now!” A scoff

“He’s getting sloppy.” The arm around Nora tightened but strangely…. As they spoke…. The grimm didn’t attack. They were still  _ threatening,  _ red eyes fixed onto Nora and mouths half open in preparation of her inevitable attack. Only she  _ couldn’t.  _ Not with Hilda holding onto her so tightly. And the Grimm seemed to realize that. It started to shake and snarl, but she couldn’t attack it and it  _ wouldn’t  _ attack her. Nora’s panic faded the longer the group of Grimm just  _ stared _ . And after a long moment the Grimm lost interest, turning to wander away due to neither of the women engaging them or producing any more terror for them. When they were gone Hilda let go of the huntress. “That could have been annoying. Don’t fight the Grimm here or they’ll toss you in Temporary Housing. Same goes for fighting people. It’s why I took your hammer. I’d prefer to get to know you before you get your personality wiped away.” A pause as she registered that Nora was still panicked. “Look, if your boy listens he’ll be fine and if you make a case to Kida or Mother you can get him back that much sooner.” She let go and Nora tried to calm herself down. Ren often took the path of least resistance. He didn’t like to fight if he didn’t have to. Jaune was plenty smart. Scarily enough, it was the adult man they had to worry about there. 

“Say someone.... Came in fighting. How bad does that mind control hit?” Hilda winced. 

“Better question, do you like steak or fish?” She started to pull Nora to another tunnel. Nora frowned. When Adults avoided a question it was usually because the answer was terrible. “They won’t kill him. He was brought by Tyrian.”

“SO……. he’s a big deal or something around here?” Statue of Salem. Hilda chuckled

“He’s the reason this city exists. All the bad, and ALL the good.”


	7. Down with the Sickness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON! So, I have this written 3 chaps in advance to make sure I don't fall behind and last week I uploaded willy nilly without double checking what chapter we were on and I made a BIG booboo!   
> You See Avalon, AMAZING naga Faunus?!   
> SHE'S BORROWED.   
> AN AMMAZING Creator named Namie is actually the one that made her!!!!!  
>  You can find more of Avalon on Tumblr at Thescfehouse if you wanna pop by and see her!
> 
> (And yes, I told Namie all about the nice reviews. She was tickled pink) AS am I!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR NICE WORDS!!!!

The woman’s red eyes slipped shut and a hand went up to her mouth. She tried to resist vomiting, but she was only kept from the floor by the arm wrapped around her waist. Her dark skin had become flushed, red undertones shining through as her body tried and failed to regulate temperature. A sweat broke out over clammy skin and she lost the will not to vomit, letting out the little that had been in her stomach. Her eyes slipped back open, but they were unfocused and pained. 

“Don’t you think that’s enough!” The man rushed forward to pull the two apart, Tyrian cracking his neck and letting go of his quarry without much resistance. The sickly woman collapsed in the arms of her savior, though the tattooed man had been asked along with the others and she was the singular one that had volunteered, voice sharp and clear she’d nearly danced over in her silk obsidian evening gown to prove her worth. That being said, now the rise and fall of her chest was  _ shaky  _ at best. Tyrian gulped, the health sliding into him like a physical thing. He clutched at his head, thoughts sliding into equilibrium. 

“If it was enough” He gave a dark chuckle still tinted with madness. “I’d  _ know _ ” He wrapped his tail around his waist, only  _ slightly  _ less prone to watching the beauty of betrayal set in as their life drained from their eyes. He took another moment to let the health settle in his mind, but no- it still danced across his eyes the ease of which he could kill everyone in this room, the sweet taste of their blood and how glorious their screams would sound, the sound nearly as beautiful as the singing of even his Nana. The mere thought made him giggle. Something that sounded as good as Nana’s singing. And of course when he  _ started _ to laugh he just couldn’t stop. Not when so much of the world was nothing short of hilarious!!! Like that girl. Like  _ Nora _ . While it turned out that she was in fact a Valkyrie she wasn’t out of the woods yet. No, Nana had to  _ like _ her. And if she didn’t pass  _ THAT  _ test. Ohhhhhhh it was awful that he’d promised to kill her last. He was a man of his word after all, but to kill all of Mr. Branwen’s precious  _ children  _ and see him lower than he thought possible. Oh the man would  _ cry. _ He could just follow the man to see the kind of despair and destruction wrought as the Grimm followed him around.Or keep him, keep him poisoned and clinging to a thread grasping for the barest shred of hope. He wasn’t quite sane enough to stop the deranged giggles, the throaty purr as he whispered to himself. “Oh you are so very  _ Lucky _ Qrow Branwen” 

“Qrow Branwen?” Tyrian’s eyes aren’t quite as manic, more honey than true gold as they swivel to the man that had spoken, the one sitting not too far from the proceedings and just impassively  _ watching _ Tyrian drain the life out of people. Then again, who could blame him for watching? Tyrian stealing health made him a much calmer person, therefore not as much of a threat. That and they were technically in a hospital right now, he happened to be the main healer of Crucible. “Another boyfriend to join Dr. Watts?” The scorpion faunus gives another chuckle. There’s an idea. The great Qrow Branwen  _ did _ pack quite a satisfying punch. 

“Possibly, or rather a possibility. But right now, I need more, lest Nana be upset with me.” A raised eyebrow from the man, and a tightening of his jaw. Brunhilda Valkyrie was a  _ persistent  _ thorn in his side, a bit like Mother who was clever and cruel. Brunhilda was obnoxious when she wanted to be, and she often wanted to be for anyone but Tyrian. Tyrian was the key to both of them. But with his attachment to his Nana. Damn. She was too strong even as old as she was, and Mother, far too clever. His best bet was Tyrian’s sanity well, until he got rid of his….’women troubles’. But that was more of a long term plan. After all, rush and they’d kill him. 

“But  _ of course. _ ..Andy” The tattooed man that was holding onto the woman shook, but obediently went to place her down in a bed of flowers so that she could recuperate from her sickness. He strode back over, Andy, trying to denigrate how scared he was. Tyrian was borderline gentle, grasping the other man’s arm. Then the semblance started. Andy was already pale. Usually it made his tattoos appear even more striking against his skin. Now…now they seemed to practically  _ glow _ as the man lost even the slightest bit of color. The worst thing about Tyrian’s semblance, was that a good thief was barely caught. It was non invasive, just a  _ touch _ , innocuous even. As if someone brushed you on a crowded subway. The main problem was that the longer he used it on you, the better it felt, a warm blanket on a cold day, it sank into you and in a lethargic state you hardly noticed that  _ he  _ was what was making you shake and shudder and slip farther and farther into oblivion. 

“Done.” Andy was released to stumble away. He brought a clammy hand to check his temperature. While he was burning up and sweating, he wasn’t so dizzy that the room was spinning. Small blessings. He really didn’t want to vomit on this shirt, it was pure white and he'd already have to do work to get the staining out of it. At least no one had started sweating blood this time. 

"You haven't brought Aurthur Watts home with you in quite some time. What made this Qrow Branwen so special?" The man asked, the slits in Golden glowing eyes narrowing ever slightly. What makes him so special?” 

“A gift for Nana involves him. Therefore,” And the tail raised threateningly. “He’s  **_OFF LIMITS_ ** ” The golden eyed man  _ did _ frown then. 

“I see. Well, if it’s for The Hilda, I’ll treat him with nothing but kindness. And I really  _ should  _ rescue him from Mother’s clutches”. A gift for Brunhilda meant that he was growing ever closer. 

“You’ll leave him RIGHT where he is. I mean it. Off limits.” 

“Fine fine.” The man held his hands palms up in the universal show of surender. “I’ll only bother him if he manages to get himself sent to lockdown. And even then, just to make sure he’s still stable for The Hilda.” Tyrian grinned. 

“Speaking of Nana. I’ve got to get back. The sanity was for her” And it was apparent even in his voice. His tone was even for once, no sharp whistle tones or hint of mania behind his words. Even his eyes are calmly looking ahead instead of darting about for his next victim, even his smile sits like it’s supposed to rather than pull his face like silly putty stretched far too far. He turns and leaves... …. ...and misses the way the golden eyed man drops his easygoing smile as his face twists into an aggravated sneer.

After Tyrian was gone, the man then walked over to look at the young woman he’d drained. She was breathing hard in her flower bed. At once, he picked her up and carried her bridal style to a long table full of plant experiments. Andy was mostly alright, nursing a fever and taking deep breaths in his corner. He'd be stable enough to go rest at 'work' in an hour or two. The golden eyed man moved the plants around to make space for the young woman to lay out and looked her over to figure out exactly what illness Tyrian had given her. His hand went out to gently trace the curve of her cheek to check her skin. Clammy, cold to the touch, tight. He knew how to fix her and he gently kissed her forehead. 

“Poor Lupita.” He took a breath, looking to see if her eyes were moving behind their lids. He nodded with the knowledge that she was having fever dreams. “Jasper, I need the Caris plant, the Lexi, root from the Maltrace tree, experiment sixteen, and of course my mortar and pestle.” The tiger Faunus was strong and she moved around with ease to gather the items. He stayed over Lupita. The weaker version of ice dust was activated as he gently ran it over her feverish skin, she started shivering when Jasper returned with the selected items.

“Here you go. Is she going to be alright?” He took them and started grinding and mixing without answering. Of  _ course _ he’d make sure he was alright. The odd sort of potion was gently guided down Lupita’s throat and she started coughing before she sat up, much better. 

“Thank you so much Father”

"You're so very welcome my dear." The man stretched, a few creeks coming out of his back. "Lupita darling. I'm starving. Could you do me a favor and go get Li to come over for lunch? He  _ is _ the best cook. Besides, I  _ think _ I'm getting an idea I need him for." The woman, still slightly off, rushed to do her assigned task. After all, everyone was to obey Father.

* * *

“First things first! WOW!” Kida clasped her hands in front of her and bounced on the balls of her feet. “You must be something  _ special  _ Tyrian usually doesn’t bring new people himself! In fact” She stopped to think “Yeah, you’re the FIRST new residents he’s brought over. I mean he’s brought a  _ few _ redheaded girls but they don’t last the night. People, they either stay forever or leave really fast, and he stopped a long time ago and he didn’t bring anyone WITH them. And, well I mean, he brings the Good Doctor every so often to see how Mother is and check up on Temporary Housing, which hasn’t needed it since we got The Mechanic and WOW she can fix anything she’s amazing. And If you're friends with Tyrian you must be WOW! Did you help him find Caspien? I bet that’s why he liked you enough to bring you here right?” Ren blinked twice. She...she wasn’t much for breathing was she? It was like dealing with a taller, less violent Nora. In terms of excitement at least. Ren stood back and watched as she entered the room with a…..  _ frankly  _ **_beautiful_ ** _ looking _ fruit salad. She placed it on the desk a decent distance away from the chicken salad.

“That particular redhead is…..” He paused. He hadn’t said it to Jaune for a few reasons. One of which being, the blonde didn’t tend to take horrible news well. He’d slammed poor Oscar up against a wall and while Oz….Pin, ma,  _ wald _ or whatever, had deserved it. Oscar himself hadn’t. He wasn’t sure how much information would get back to Jaune and the  _ last  _ thing Nora needed was to think she was being abandoned at this time. Until he figured out what sort of privileges ‘Caspien’ was subject to that Tyrian and Hilda weren't worried about him, he wasn’t going to say anything that could, without context, be criminalizing. “Tyrian seems to like her company, as does Hilda.” This was apparently the  _ wrong _ thing to say. Kida’s face morphed into an expression of absolute confusion for a moment or two. ….. 

“She must be something SPECIAL! Tyrian doesn’t like a lot of people, and The Hilda likes even less.” Her hand drifted closer to her watch. Ren’s eyes narrowed, wasn’t that for communication purposes?

“So this is Temporary housing. I saw on the rules that people must be cleared by it before I am able to go into the city proper. Then I assume I will receive my weapon once more?” Stay neutral. He took a deep breath. Until he had  _ all  _ of the information. He had to stay neutral. “After all, one of the rules is that I  _ must  _ have my weapon on me at all times. Assumedly to handle any newcomer that attempts to harm the Grimm?” Kida’s eyes widened. Ren felt his heart  _ drop _ . What had he

“OHHHHH YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!!!” He very suddenly had an armful of overjoyed woman. With Nora, it only took a few seconds before he registered that he was being hugged and so hugged her back. 

“I take it that’s not a common understanding of what to do with your weapons?” He asked her. 

“Oh my goddess NO! Not for the first few days at least. Everyone just starts up with ‘When I get my weapons’ and ‘bust outta here’ and ‘get that bitch’ and oh it’s just  _ awful _ .” She noticed then that she was hugging him and he let her go with a raised brow. “Everyone is so  _ mean _ when they get here it’s terrible!” 

“Well that’s just rude. And I  _ pride  _ myself on being polite.” While it was the truth it didn’t hurt to sprinkle another one of the rules into the conversation. She gave a blinding grin as she sat down on the floor, letting him pick if he’d like the bed or chair. Ren chose to sit on the chair and held the bowl of fruit salad, looking down at the mangos and kiwis. Where were they even getting this food? “Thank you for the food. Does everyone here receive the same standard?” Kida frowned. 

“Well, yes and no. I mean. I only cook for the people in Temporary housing. After that you have to manage to cook on your own.” She giggled. “If you like food you can help in the gardens. We have one for herbs, one for sugar, one for cotton, one for hemp, and TWO for food!” Kida had a  _ beautifully  _ expressive face. And her smile was strained. Either something was wrong with the gardens...one of them at least, or there was something she didn’t want him to know about. 

“Well I don’t know, I fear I may destroy anything I try to plant.” He chuckled and she giggled along with him. 

“Well that’s the  _ other _ reason I’m here. Everyone has a set of tasks assigned to them. And a place to live. I have to go through to figure out how to make sure our citizens are happy!” And her eyes darted to the chicken salad, smile slightly forced. 

“Wait I get to stay here? How wonderful!” Her eyes widened again and she actually  _ bounced  _ on her feet. Who ever couldn’t escape past her didn’t bother doing the basics of reading the rules and deception…...actually. “How do…. _ most  _ residents arrive if not Tyrian?” 

“The Goddess!” Yes,  _ Salem _ . Judging by the fact that she was only referred to as ‘The Goddess’ in the texts he’d read it was safe to assume that the name was unknown. “She delivers us new residents via her Grimm.” 

“I’m sorry  _ what?”  _ That was terror. He was sure it’d made it to his voice because he was sure he was  _ shaking _ . Shit. “I’m afraid I do not understand. Please explain?”

“OH! The Goddess sends out her Grimm and if they find someone they think is worthy of becoming a resident, they bring them here. When the Grimm lets them out they are often confused and violent. So Mother handles them and brings them to me. I keep them in Temporary Housing until they are less confused and not at all violent.” her face fell. “Well,  _ less  _ violent. If they become violent once more they are sent back to me so I can fix them.” She tilted her head. “Are you alright Ren?” He blinked and forced himself to  _ breathe.  _ But no, he was not alright. Because that meant that this place was full of people that had been brought screaming and shaking and terrified for their  _ lives _ . And the Grimm had dropped out people that weren't just  _ killed _ to be…

“I am fine, just thinking” He took another deep breath and activated his semblance. He had been trying to avoid it before as they were ‘illegal’... but he needed to calm down right now. “No doubt your wonderful personality helps to put them at ease. If you don’t mind my asking, how  _ exactly  _ do the Grimm get them here?” His smile was tight, but Kida didn’t seem to notice. 

“Awwwww, you are a  _ charmer _ Ren!” She giggled. He forced a chuckle as well. “You know, I don’t see you staying here very long at all!” Neither did he. He’d been periodically looking over the chicken salad while he waited for her to come back and all of the pieces of chicken had gained a worrying yellow tint on the inside of them. Hilda hadn’t been lying. Kida was trying to poison him. “The Grimm tend to either swallow people whole...well,  _ mostly  _ whole in some cases. I can fix the rest. Or they just absorb them and walk them over” She giggled again. Oh.  _ Wonderful _ , even  **_MORE_ ** horrifying than he’d thought. It was a good thing he hadn’t eaten, he was going to be  _ sick _ . 

“Do you do all of the housing arrangements?” He asked. She nodded happily. “When Tyrian brought me in, I noticed that the area by Hilda was empty.” Her lip curled, but visible disgust was better than strained and trying to remain pleasant.

“Oh you don’t wanna stay  _ there. _ The Barracks are SO old! They aren’t even  _ connected _ to anything. No water, no deliveries, not even a PA system. You’d have to run out and get the dust yourself from the stations. They’re just one room and a kitchen and the  _ tiniest  _ living room. I’m not even sure all of them have furniture! The dust mine under it means the ground always glows so you probably sleep worse and all that ice dust makes it  _ freezing _ . Not to mention you have to go out and get everything yourself. And it’s SO FAR AWAY from everything! No one would visit you! I mean….mostly because The Hilda thinks anyone being over there means they want to train.” She shuddered. “She’ll want to  _ train _ you! And your house will get at least partially destroyed and you’ll have to put it back together a bunch!” Ren nodded through Kida’s genuine worry. No one would come to him. And not hooked up to anything meant less opportunity to spy. In trying to make it seem horrible she’d made it the perfect cover. 

“So Hilda lives out there all alone?” He asked, testing his theory.

“Well, not  _ all  _ alone. Tyrian sleeps over when he visits, but that’s only once a month for a few days. And the man that came last week. He’s a sweetheart. And he gives out  _ hair ruffles _ !” Kida bounced at that. “Mother is stingy with hair ruffles. That’s one of the worst things about her. But I get ruffles from him!”

“With a Mother running around I imagine he must be Father?” Kida looked genuinely  _ offended _ on behalf of the hair ruffler. 

“ **_NO_ ** . Father is…..” The look of utmost  _ DISGUST  _ on her face tells Ren literally  _ everything  _ he ever needed to know about the person that was apparently walking around with the name ‘Father’. She sighs. “I wish he was.” He’s taken back by the wistful tone in her voice. “Things would be….a lot  _ better _ . There are a few ways for things to be better but….but maybe with  _ Caspien.  _ Even if it’s the wrong one. … If Brendon has him then….” She abruptly shocks back to reality, shaking her head, fluffy hair smelling faintly of jasmine. Ren noticed it only because she’d made a face at the gardens. If she smelt like flowers, then it wasn’t flowers themselves. It wasn’t the herb garden that had the problem. “What do you like doing!?” She asked, back to her perky brightness after her lapse.

“According to my….. Friends, I’m a very good cook.” If a majority of ‘rude’ people here were Huntsmen, don’t mention that he was one. She hummed to herself, frowning. “What positions do you need?” He asked instead. 

“Mother can usually find a spot for anyone. I am, unfortunately, not nearly as gifted.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if we need any more book binders, or if the tailors prefer cotton to wool.” 

“Tailors?” He latched onto that. “I can hand sew a bit.” And it would place him in a good position to both learn more about the people here and not be too terribly bothered. After all, you went to the tailor to get your clothes fixed and then left them alone to work. 

“That’s a bit of an intensive job.” she frowned a bit. “We usually transfer people to intensive jobs when they’ve made a nuisance of themselves and you aren’t a nuisance! I mean, unless you already know how to work a loom?” A…. that gave him pause. 

“Oddly enough,  _ yes _ I do know how to work a loom.” Kida’s face brightened. 

“Ohhhhh! Then I’ll start getting things ready with furniture and clothing and placement and….” She winced. “I don’t particularly  _ want _ to talk to The Hilda, but if you’re sure that’s where you’ll be happiest! Oh, I need to get you a watch!” She smiled and ruffled his hair. “Do you not like mangoes?” she asked very suddenly. Her eyes were fixed on the untouched fruit salad in his hands. 

“It is….difficult to eat with the meat in the room” He gave her the first excuse he could think of, blossom pink eyes darting to the mentioned food as he spoke. In that moment, he was extremely grateful that she’d unnerved him enough to make him activate his semblance in the first place. It kept him from panicking now. 

“I completely understand” Kida giggled and she picked up the bowl to take it away. Ren gave a strained smile as he looked at the fruit bowl. He didn’t see fruit. All he could see was the chicken in the salad. The sickly yellow had spread while they spoke, touching the roasted edges. The centers however, where the yellow was spreading from, had shifted from sickly looking yellow, tendrils connecting the color to a void of  _ black _ . He mind raced. Was Jaune still here? Was Qrow? How could he communicate to the two that they needed to avoid the food?

* * *

Qrow’s head was spinning. He’d eaten the chicken, but not drank the water becuase he wasn’t stupid enough to drink the water. Of  **_course_ ** it was just his luck that he’d made the wrong call. What was poisoned? Was it everything? He distantly felt small hands on him, lifting him up to lie him down on the bed. 

“Mr. Branwen?” He tried to focus on the voice through the haze in his head. It was odd, his  _ thoughts  _ were a jumbled mess, but he could hear her perfectly, even if he was having issues focusing on what she said or processing it fully. He could barely focus on his own breathing.“Mr. Branwen. I have to ask you a few questions.” He groaned, red eyes struggling to see the figure directly in front of him. “Mr. Branwen?” 

“The fuck did you do to me?” His voice is wrong. To his ears it sounds distant and distorted. His tongue feels so heavy he could hardly move it, and oversized to boot. He’s drooling down his shirt as the person moves him. Fuck. This was going to complicate matters now wasn’t it? His chest heaved and his lungs burned as the person tried to put something in his mouth. He grit his teeth closed and tried again to force his brain to process who was in front of him. 

“You really should eat something else sir.” He forced his overly heavy tongue to move and spat at whoever was touching him. All his trouble got him was an annoyed groan. “You know, you’re friends with Ren and you were so nice before! I was  _ really  _ hoping you were pleasant. Or that may be the shock setting in.” Kida….. It was Kida humming as she turned up the volume on the radio. “Don’t  _ worry _ . By the end of the week you won’t even remember this nasty lil lapse!”

“ _ Ain't it nice, aint it fun? Worshipin' the Holy one ain't it good, yes it's good, she is GGGGOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD  _

_ Wonder-Der-Ful!  _

_ Living for the goddess!!!! I _

_ t it great, here in Cru-ci-bleeee!  _

_ Yeah it's Fun!" _

Kida… that was  _ Kida  _ on the radio! He hadn't been actively listening before, just trying to figure out how to make her like him so that she'd let him out and he could escape. He was pretty sure it'd been some  _ dude _ before but...but still. He could hear the music like he was being swallowed by it. This was some BULLSHIT! Qrow struggled. If he could force himself to get up he could turn that garbage OFF! He could….he could…..his eyes slipped shut, the bouncy song still playing.


	8. A crash course in Caspian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing stuff stupid far in advance is great for MIDTERM WEEK when you didn't write at all plus a week of no motivation. Let's hope I can get back up to three chapters prewritten by the end of spring break XD

Jaune hadn’t realized how hungry he was till the food was in front of him. He made the valiant effort, he really did. This whole place screamed bad news and there was probably a reason Brendon hadn't eaten the delicious looking stew. Yeah, he called it  _ soup _ but it was thick and deep brown with spices and it was well on its way to being irresistible even before the madman put it over a fire dust crystal and warmed it so that the sweetly spicy smell was invading his senses. Brendon probably had some sort of mind reading semblance, cause he was leaning on a counter, dark eyes swimming with barely restrained mirth, a cock smirk on his handsome face as he stared at Jaune’s attempts to resist to soup while tossing an apple so green it almost hurt to look at. 

“When you wanna admit you’re hungry dude I’m right here” He chuckled. He’d said half a bowl of soup, but it was three quarters full and the apple was full, though Jaune noticed a few apple cores on the counter. “And like, I’m not super  _ busy _ today, ya picked a good time to land ‘Caspien’. I’ve gotta teach ya how to be you. Ya know, to avoid  _ death. _ ” Jaune straightened up, his hand automatically going for his missing weapon. He was surprised when he grabbed a hilt and drew the sword of Crocea Mors. Bewildered blue eyes darted up to bored brown. “Awe, shit. I really thought you’d last more than a few days.” Brendon wasn’t in an attack stance or anything, and while his eyes were bored, his ever present smile had dipped into an expression of exhausted resignation. Jaune wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t be where he was if he hadn’t been smart enough to forge papers in the first place. And so he went with his original plan….. Live. 

“I’m so hungry I’m delusional?” He said, sliding his sword back into the hilt. As expected, Brendon’s face lit back up. Well that was an obvious tell. The man took the soup off of the dust and held it out for Jaune, unbothered by the heat. Activated Aura then,  _ trained _ . Unless someone else opened it for him it was safe to assume he knew how to fight. “Not to be rude but….” How to say ‘ _ I don’t trust anything here not to be poisoned _ ’ in a way that would keep himself alive? Brendon leaned forward slightly. “Take another sip.” Jaune switched gears. “It’s  _ your _ lunch. I’d hate to take it when you ate so little.” Brendon smirked slowly. 

“Oh you’re a  _ clever  _ Caspian. How beautiful.” With that said, he did bring the bowl to his own lips and took a healthy slug before offering the rest to Jaune. Jaune waited a few moments to see if the guy fell over or something. Not only was Brendon alright, he took an exaggerated bite out of the apple before offering the rest of that as well. Jaune busied himself with the stew. It was a little barbaric just slurping it from a bowl, but a spoon hadn’t been offered. The soup itself was  _ fantastic.  _ The beef hunks in it were smoky and savory and made Jaune slow down to chew the marbled meat correctly. The stock was great too. Someone had a lot of time on their hands to reduce a bone broth of all things. He hadn’t had one since he was a little kid! He could see how Bredon could be full from only a bit, it was super rich and warm enough to make him feel  _ hopeful.  _ The fuck!? Someone here was entirely too good at cooking. 

“So….where am I? And why do I have my weapons back?” Brendon chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I get that you’re being an ass to my questions cause Caspien knows all these answers, but you know for a FACT I’m not-”

“SHUT UP!” Brendon was actively snarling now. “The ones that are like-I’m actually X, but I can play at Caspien, those die the fastest. Just be  _ Caspien  _ dude! Otherwise Mother’s going to  _ kill  _ you. We don’t keep any blonde boys that look the right age. She gets….” He stopped talking abruptly, biting his lip. Jaune blinked, at once realizing that Brendon, like Kida, had been trying to help him stay alive. Apparently fake Caspiens were common. Go figure. Okay then, he could do this. Could he??? YEAH! 

“So…..It’s been SO LONG. Like…..” Jaune trailed off waiting for an answer

“Yeah, I guess thirteen years  _ is _ a bit.”

“ **_Seriously_ ** ?” Brendon shrugged and Jaune sighed. He was the dead ringer for a missing poster child from thirteen years ago. That earned a FULL eye roll. “So in  _ thirteen years _ I may have forgotten a few things. Is that a fair assumption?” He was once again speaking Brendon’s language it seem, for the slightly older man grinned and nodded along with the rational idea of information that had been  _ forgotten  _ rather than information that had _ never existed.  _

“Okay then, tell me what you do remember.” Jaune’s eye twitched again. 

“We’re in a place called Crucible, Kida is ‘The Healer’ and works in Temporary Housing. The lady called Mother is Justice…..and crazy. You can make Grimm go away by talking to them because of Sa-um…. Your goddess. Mother and Tyrian don’t get along but Kida likes him even though she works for Mother...along with you?” Brendon hummed, thinking about that. 

“Okay, how’d you get here?” Jaune gave him a flat look and he amended his statement. “Back. How’d you get  _ back _ ? You were born here and ran off but how’d you get back?” 

“I was with my team, helping guard against Grimm and….” Jaune looked over to the side as he tried to connect the dots. He’d been in Mantle with his team….guarding the wall. Grimm had been approaching. Then…. Then  _ Tyrian.  _ And he….he’d been stabbed! 

_One second he’d been fighting, the next, searing pain through his middle. **Ren**. Ren had been super hurt. He’d been twitching on the ground but he’d been dead still in Nora’s arms when he’d glanced back. It may have been the glance that did it. Had he not lost his shield Nora may have been able to get help but…..there was a ripping pain in his stomach. Then the world started going fuzzy at the edges. A slick sickness settled into him. It made him too heavy to move. It was like it was freezing his blood, making it drag to a halt and expand. It felt like if he moved too much he’d tear his own skin apart from the inside. Ren was _amazing _to fight like that. He….he remembered being cold, and the manic eyes of the monster. Nora was yelling but it had been muffled. And he was so_ dammed cold. _He remembered fighting…. Fighting himself, to stay awake. A crow had circled overhead and then_ Qrow _. He recognized the smell of gunpowder and smoke and oiled metal and a hint of pine. If it had been shorter and missing the smoke he’d have pegged it for Ruby. But the accompanying figure was tall and masculine. It had been Qrow lifting him up as the darkness tried to drag him down. Worried red eyes and a rough voice murmuring about safety. Then the smell of blood choked out the smoke and pine and red eyes widened before the man holding him had slumped. Then it got really weird. Rough jerky movements and fighting away the haze. Then sitting….not safe. A serrated surface_ moving _beneath his back, a wrong voice, a maniac cackling. He lost... He slid into unconsciousness and started losing everything. He couldn’t hear the cackling, couldn’t feel the cold serrated thing on his back. He….he was pretty sure he was…. _**Gone gone** _for a minute there. And then….he could feel_ everything _. A sharp scalpel burned like a wildfire through him, melting the ice in his veins to outrace a finish line he’d already passed. But she’d caught him somehow, thrown over a shoulder and skipped back as that same heat **welded** skin back together and dragged his aura out of bed to fight with hers. The only thing that hurt more than dying was being ripped back to life it seemed. Then he was suddenly aware of a weaker person begging for help and his instincts had taken over. _

“Tyrian” Jaune answered slowly. “Tyrian stabbed me, nearly ripped out my stomach. Then Kida fixed me up.” Brendon nodded seriously. 

“Tyrian’s poison can cause memory lapses. If they persist I’ll ask Kida to give you a pick me up. She likes to make sure she gets everything.” He looked sad again. “But  _ SINCE  _ you ran off thirteen years ago, and we all learned our lesson you aren’t doing anything like that again, I’ll give you a crash course in rules and important peeps.”

* * *

Nora was still deciding if she liked Hilda or not. Hilda herself was calmly examining the carcass of a pig that had been slaughtered earlier that day. She hummed to herself, poking at the animal’s hindquarters. 

“How do you feel about Ham?” She asked. Nora leaned over and curled her nose at the creature. “I have some pork belly to make bacon. It’s been curing for about a week, but bacon’s a breakfast food….unless I put it in the soup.” She hummed “Then ham would be next week. Which works, I need something wonderful to celebrate your little friends getting out of Temporary. Do your little friends like ham?” 

“Um… Yeah? I guess. Ren’s not a big meat eater anyway. I mean…” The memory assaulted her. The boy had been, haunted looking and cracking a bone between his teeth to suck out the nutrient rich marrow. He didn’t like eating meat after that, but he still would “I mean...he eats anything really.” She shrugged. “Jaune’s pretty open to eat anything too. I don’t care as long as it won’t try to kill me.” Hilda nodded, but her eyebrow was raised and her axe returned to her back instead of carving up more meat. 

“Well, porchetta doesn’t need a week to season. I’ll come back for that when I need it.” Nora, who didn’t know what porchetta  _ was _ simply nodded dumbly. “It’ll be a nice treat for them when you get to see them again.” Hilda looked over to see that Nora was trying and  _ failing _ to keep it together. She’d gone quiet, hands gripping her basket tightly. “Nora” The younger girl jumped up at the harshness of the tone. “Your friends will be okay. They are not able to be hurt right now. You  **_worrying_ ** right now, is doing nothing but putting a target mark on them. I will handle it.  _ Tyrian _ will handle it. I’ll make him before he leaves. I’ll find your friends and make sure you can talk to them first thing in the morning. They won’t go crazy overnight. Not even Mother is that good. Come on, we’ll have bacon in the soup. Let’s get you away from these  **_VULTURES_ ** . ” She gently hip checked the younger woman to make her move, and only then did Nora notice the six people trying very valiantly to look like they  _ weren’t  _ just spying on her. They had all jumped and scrambled away as Hilda called them out. Nora let the older woman drape an arm around her shoulder to guide her down the tunnels. 

“So….what did Tyrian do? That he’s such a big deal here.” Hillda chuckled. “And why is everything here in  _ tunnels _ you never told me that. Who is Caspien? What’s gonna happen to people when they get out of T. H.?“

“Well” Hilda started “Worship will tell you  _ everything.  _ And they’ll waste an hour making it as beautiful and overly dramatic as possible.” She rolled her eyes. “Long story  _ very _ short….this place isn’t supposed to exist. It was founded by a bunch of artists and creative thinkers fleeing Mantle. They were pansies,  **_weaklings_ ** . But...they were Mantle. And the people of Mantle are  _ known _ to dig their heels in and never give up. So they made a little City here”

“Where  _ is _ here?” Nora asked. Hilda hummed as she considered the question. …. Then she shrugged. 

“The town itself is called Crucible. As for where we are….. Well, they walked from Mantle over a series of islands and it took a few months but once they learned where they were going it only took two weeks. The people from Vacuo, almost a year to get here but they’ve cut that down to just under three weeks if you know the way. Vale is only five days. We have  _ runners _ to Vale. They can get there and back in less than two weeks. It’s  _ Vale. _ I want to say it took the first Valians a solid month.I wasn’t here when the  _ first _ Valiens got here. I was about a dozen years too late. But…..wherever we  _ are _ , it’s within walking distance of the kingdoms…or at least, the within walking distance of the outskirts of the kingdoms. As you've seen, Grimm can make that trip a lot faster." Nora felt the cold fear lock in her spine. This crazy Salem city was only a few weeks away from the kingdoms. And  _ no one _ knew about it to stop them. 

"So….what happens after they leave Temporary housing? You said it makes them crazy." She was aware of how rough and raw her voice sounded. She was also aware that there was a young man that was looking at her a bit to closely as she moved next to Hilda.

"I used the wrong word. They only go crazy if they try to fight it." The tight smile she threw Nora's way did nothing to assuage her fears. "There are  _ rules _ here. And people don't tend to like those rules. So they just plant the rules in their heads….and then…. They make sure you know how bad an idea it is to disobey." She shrugged. "Be polite, don't hurt the Grimm, don't cause trouble, don't ask to go, and stick by me. You'll be fine." Hilda squeezed Nora's shoulder. 

"And what about Ren, Jaune and Qrow?" Hilda hummed at that. She honestly didn't know. Nora absently noted that they were in the same slightly wider tunnel that branched off to the barracks. "How do you know where you're  _ going? _ " 

"I've been down here almost thirty years _and_ I'm the one that designed most of this maze. Don't worry, you'll figure it out sooner or later. As for your friends, Qrow I'll ask about. I got to give Ren some pointers so he's better off. I'll focus attention on getting Qrow out." 

"But you can get Ren out!?" They re-entered the cavern that held the barracks and Nora started trembling slightly. It was sinking in that there was going to be a  _ meal _ with  _ Tyrian _ . She was trying and failing to do that deep breathing calm yourself down trick Ren had showed her. 

"I can only ask for one at a time. Whoever I talk about more will get released. I gave Ren some tips. If he obeys-"

"Get Ren out first." She was Hilda blinked, bewildered. 

“Look. You keep trying to tell me a lot of things, but I’m just…. He’s the reason I’m alive today. I need him. I’ll be a  _ little  _ bit better with Jaune back cause I I love him too but like, Ren’s the only one that can stop me from shaking apart so….” Hilda looked down to note that the girl was crying. She couldn't help how her lip curled in disgust. Crying like that was one of the weakest things you could do. 

“Okay, Okay, I’ll pull some strings and ask Tyrian to pull a few on his way out.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Tonight I’ll let you get this out of your system but first thing tomorrow I’m putting you on Tyrian’s old regime. You’re softer than a  _ marshmallow  _ what are they TEACHING kids anymore. How to fall apart at the mildest inconvenience? Bah” Nora blushed up to her hairline. 

“I’m not  _ awful  _ you know!” That prompted Hilda to start laughing. “WHAT!” 

“Girl you couldn’t land a solid  **_hit_ ** and that was under the effects of my semblance. I stopped you cold without even thinking about it.” Nora spluttered. 

“I WAS EXHAUSTED! I’m  _ still _ tired. My whole team got their ASSES KICKED!” 

“And you’re only alive cause it was  _ Tyrian _ and the little  **_SHIT_ ** can’t stop playing with his food.” She shook her head. “Four against one and he still won. What does that tell you?” Nora bit her lip. 

“Three?” She offered. “Qrow came at the last second to help us and he got sneak attacked cause I was looking at him.” That earned a snort. 

“YOU LOOKED AT YOUR SECRET BACKUP! That’s what I am  **_TALKING_ ** about, whoever taught you to fight needs to get SHOT for the greater good!” Nora flushed. “So yes, I’ll let you have your panic today, but tomorrow you start training. Cut this” As they’d been talking they’d been moving. Already inside Hilda placed her basket on the kitchen counter and took off her axe blades so that Nora could start chopping up one of the green leafy vegetables. 

“You’re not going to wash it?” she asked. Hilda scoffed. 

“So either you’re soft enough for  _ dirt _ to beat you, or you do not trust the very thing we just pulled from the ground ourselves.” And….that was a good point. She started to mince. A few seconds passed before she was aware of amused eyes on her. 

“What?” She demanded. 

“You don’t know what a leek is do you?” Hilda asked. Nora stopped mincing to look over. The old lady was borderline laughing at her again. Nora looked away for the laughter to start. “Here, you can boil the water for the potatoes.” And Nora was handed two crystals of ice dust and five of fire.” Before she could get out the question Hilda cut her off. “No running water this far away from everyone’s bullshit. It’s a trade off I’m willing to accept for being. Well, far away from people’s bullshit.” Nora accepted the large steel pot and tried to figure out the math of measurement without KILLING them. 

"So…..who's Caspian?" She asked. Because they thought Jaune was Caspian. And in thinking that no one was worried about him. Hilda snorted again. 

* * *

“OKAY, so, first things first, I’m Brendon and...a  _ bit _ of a jerk off when I wanna be so you always liked bustin my chops. You are also, one of the  _ few  _ people that don’t laugh at my  **_AMAZING_ ** jokes! Shame on you for that.” Jaune scoffed. 

“I’ll laugh when you tell a funny one.” He shook his head. Of all the horrible things he thought was going to happen to him upon seeing Tyrian, Brendon was  _ definitely  _ not the worst thing. He wasn’t funny though, not at all. He was taking the chance to be helpful to instead be a DICK! Brendon for his part, laughed again.

"Yeah just like that! You're doing GREAT!!!" Jaune rolled his eyes. It was like dealing with a  _ slightly  _ less hyper version of Neon. "Next peep ta know, Kida! That sounds like a duh but BIG duh. She was your best friend when you guys were kids. Ya had all these inside jokes and shit. Like four of a kind. Well….three of a kind and then kinda a split with you and Father off being peas in the weirdest pod." He shrugged. "I never got it."

"So Kida and C... _ I  _ grew up together?" At Brendon's flat look Jaune amended. ""Look. Thirteen years is  _ most  _ of my life. I'm  _ nineteen _ "

"Twenty three" Brendon deadpanned. Jaune rolled his eyes….then recounted. 

"A ten year old  _ kid _ ran out of here?" 

"Yeah,  _ YOU" _ And Brendon was now frustrated. Great, PERFECT Jaune had been FRUSTRATED FOR A WHILE. The blonde took a deep breath and pulled himself back to center before giving Brendon a tight smile.

" _ Okay _ , let's ignore the me forgetting everything from thirteen years ago and just go with full on  _ amnesia _ okay!? I don't remember what I don't remember and it happened a while ago. Is that  _ better  _ for you? Being here might jog a few memories but I need to know what I'm trying to remember,  _ kay _ ." He wasn't having a great day. Waking up late, losing his coffee to Marrow  _ again _ , horney moms, Nora got more stressed the longer they stayed on Atlas, getting kidnapped and now the answer to ALL of their problems being a colossal dick. Jaune wanted a stiff drink. Was he  _ old enough  _ to drink? Not really. Had he snuck a few swigs out of Qrow's flask after learning that Oz knew the whole time Salem couldn't be killed…… he still didn't know if it was alcohol or something to erode stone but either way, he wanted some- _ now _ .

"Amnesia…..makes...... _ sense _ " Brendon had spoken slowly as the idea had sat in his brain before he accepted the excuse. "Yeah.....YEAH! Your head got fuzzy from The Taint and you got all confused and it happened to you so long ago that even Kida couldn't fix it. She's not great with the taint. I mean….mean....she  _ is _ just...not her semblance." Jaune nodded.

"Yes,  _ taint _ sure. So Kida's my best friend. Father is apparently my best friend"

"Stay away from him" the order was quick, sharp, and bore no room for argument. 

"You just said that we were friends no one got.” 

“Yeah” Brendon nodded. “I’m  _ also _ saying-avoid the fucker like he’s the living representation of the Plague.” Jaune blinked at that. “Dude, you can be friendly with a total ass.  _ Everyone  _ is nice to me and I chill with everyone. Well” He stopped to think, a dark look settling over his features. “To their  _ face  _ I’m nice…….I keep a nice tone of voice. My  **_point_ ** is, you guys are best friends and you avoid him, got it?” Jaune sighed. 

“Okay” Not okay, completely confusing but fine if need be. “You said Four of a kind, Father, me and Kida is three. Are you four or?” Brendon’s uproarious laughter cut him off that time. Jaune felt his eye twitch. “Okay, coulda just said  _ no.” _ No amount of good soup would make this day good enough to deal with this guy. 

“You’re last and  **_BEST_ ** friend is Mother” Even as Brendon said it something was off. His ever present grin slipped and his eyes looked like they were asking for help. Jaune took a long, LONG moment to process before he spoke again. 

“What happened?” 

“We don’t know” Brendon leveled. But Mother….she used to be a lot better. And then you left and everything….. It….it’s still  _ wonderful  _ don’t get me wrong but it’s….. It’s not as  _ wonderful  _ as it should be.” Okay, everything makes more sense now. This Caspien guy had been making little miss crazy a LOT less crazy and when he got tired of it and left she went FULL crazy. It didn’t explain why his  _ armor  _ was important, but definitely explained Kida jumping on the idea of him being Caspien. They wanted someone that looked right and could do the job. Jaune could probably use this to keep his head above water until he could find his team and Ruby’s Uncle.

“Tell me everything I forgot about this place.” 


	9. A few Friendly faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID IT AGAIN!!!!! Falls over in despair! At least I caught it early.   
>  Jorge Saravad (Name from something called Halo apparently) is controlled by my good friend Killer-Orca. He's ALSO a Tumblr rper you can find him at https://huntsman-ash.tumblr.com/ Say hi he's really nice, and if you like the combat military stuff and weapons HE HAS YOU COVERED!!! He actually made Jorge just for Hilda cause he's a sweetheart like that.

His room was away from others, he’d been able to hear the walls sliding up and down, but muffled from how far away they were. There were vents in the room for circulation. If you weren't paying attention you wouldn’t be able to hear anything other than the music. That was why he turned it as low as it would go and situated himself directly beneath the vent. As it turned out, that radio didn’t turn back off once it had been turned on. It got lower yes, so low you could hardly hear it, but still playing pervasively. That was fine, he needed to listen without really listening anyway. The quiet hiss from above indicated that the door halfway down the hall had been used. He counted fifteen seconds and judged what seemed to be Kida's walk speed before he started softly singing. Near the middle so she'd think he'd been singing for a while.

"So let their Hate, rain down. Born to be the one that’s gonna Hail the Crown they are her Vengeance-” 

"Mr Ren?"He turned his attention to Kida. Reading was important here, he now knew that the innocuous looking woman didn’t just  _ work  _ in Temporary Housing. She ran it. She practically owned it. He’d taken the chance on the fruit salad after a couple of hours had passed with no visible reaction from the food to find that it was….was....absolutely delicious. The fruit was so fresh she'd probably placed it in the bowl as she picked it. 

"Hello there Miss Kida. I was just reading." And he waved the book for emphasis. "A few songs got in my head. They're very catchy." She smiled.

"The one you were singing is one of Andy's. The artist…. _ I _ have my issues with him but he's one blessed songwriter." She had no food, but a clipboard. "You may see him perform during worship!"

"I can't wait.” Her smile turned slightly strained. “What’s the matter?” 

“Well, I went to speak with the tailor about you. I personally think you can get out of here as soon as possible, you’re  _ wonderful  _ but Lady Song is….” Her voice did an odd raspy squeak thing. “She'll want some more information on you.” Well that explained the clipboard at least. Ren resisted the urge to frown. ‘Lady Song’ wasn’t right in front of him. He didn’t know what she wanted, what she was looking for. He also didn’t have any hints on how to deal with her. With a deep breath he realized that this interrogation was going to have to be as honest as he could make it.

“Ask away,” He said, smile gentle. Kida herself looked stressed on his behalf. So either this was going to be a hoop she wasn’t sure he’d be able to jump through even though she wanted him too, or Lady Song was difficult and she thought it was in his best interests to stay away.

“First question. Is your Aura activated enough that you are safe in the event that you are allergic to any natural based fibers such as wool, cotton, or latex and or the dyes used to modify them?” He blinked. That was…. _ not  _ what he expected. At all. 

“I have no allergies to anything at all and yes, my Aura is activated.” Kida’s face became more strained. Was he answering the question  _ correctly  _ or…...he took another deep breath. Panicking wouldn’t help him here, especially since this crazy place was crawling with Grimm he couldn’t attack. 

“How long have you been able to hand sew?” She was checking the clipboard as she asked her questions. Meaning she wasn’t sure of what she was looking for either. “Also when did you learn and who taught you?”

“My mother taught me. It was just… something we did together. I don’t remember how old I was, just that I was…. _ young _ . Since then I have been performing repairs both minor and major to my own clothing and that of my travel companions." Another note. 

"Do you have any embroidery skills?" She asked, eyes still firmly on the…..the.....did they not have knives around here? Ren noticed then and there that her clipboard had singed edges along its abnormal shape. Also, that the paper was oddly thick. It looked like the paper he'd made to teach Nora how to read. Paper that wasn’t  _ quite  _ Paper, but soaked rags pounded together. This place must not have an actual printing press then. "Ren?"

“I am sorry, lost in thought. Yes. I have embroidery skills. Rather than necessity, it was done to pass time when…." When he was too weak with hunger to activate aura and it was  _ imperative _ that he remain calm for both of their sakes. "When I had nothing better to do" Kida nods. 

“Where were you before Crucible?" Now wasn't  _ that _ a loaded question. He opened his mouth to answer, but she took the time to clarify. "Not right before, not when Tyrian picked you up. Your clothes lean more to what people in Anima tend to wear. We have people from all over Remnant here. Your clothes  _ lean  _ more to an Anima style. But not quite. They changed somewhere along the line. Did you adopt the Anima style? Or did something  _ happen _ ?" His eyes slipped closed, analyzing the question and all of its possibilities. Truth. 

"I am from Kuroyuri. Which was a small village in Anima yes. I've been traveling ever since it was destroyed." She nodded and noted it. 

"I  _ swear _ I've heard that name before." Her face had morphed into one of confusion and a frown was pulling at her lips, but she shook her head and ignored whatever she was upset about. “After it was destroyed you went to….”

“Vale. My traveling companion had heard that she had family in Vale and so we were trying to unite with them.”

“And how did you manage the journey? What did you do for food and water and shelter?” Her questions are careful, she’s looking at him rather than the paper on the clipboard. He takes deep breaths as her crystal clear eyes stay locked on him. 

“I don’t know,” He said calmly,  _ truthfully _ . “I owe it all to Nora. She was homeless before me. She knew what to do...how rotten food could get before you couldn’t eat it anymore…. how to find civilizations, how to make water safe enough to drink. I just made sure our clothes were in proper order. No one wants to help a pair of homeless children. But they’ll drop everything to try and guide lost ones back home. We became very good at lying. Just ‘a few lien to grab a cart back home’ or ‘but my mother told Nora and I to stay at the tower and meet for lunch. We’re not going till we see her!’ Business owners would offer us some fresh bread to push us out of the way” A soft smile graced his face as he remembered…. “Nora is  _ very _ good at being disruptive. Sometimes they would throw food at us to make us leave. I also became quite good at picking locks.” He took a chance to look up at Kida and see that she had a soft smile on her face. “What?” She straightened, smile almost seeming  _ proud _

“You will be one of the best.” She said softly. “There are those that, before coming here...they had the illusion of a full life. They are the ones that hate the Goddess. The ones we need to….” she bit her lip and rather than attempt a lie, she redirected “Look out for. But YOU! The best citizens are the ones that know how awful the outside can be. Those are the ones willing to accept the glory of the goddess and rest in her love.” Her beam brightened and she actually  _ bounced  _ on the balls of her feet. “Oh I am  _ so  _ happy you made it here! Don’t worry. I can personally assure you that you’ll never go hungry again!” She lowered the wall to rush into the room and hug him tightly. Ren  _ froze _ because the young woman was sobbing into his shirt, so happy that he’d made it to safety. He sighed softly, wrapping his arms around her to accept the hug. While the door was open, it was highly inadvisable to attempt to run. He didn’t know where Qrow was and when Mother had guided him in she’d used some sort of stone to make the door  **_appear_ ** . No doubt she’d destroyed it when she left. That and he could  _ feel  _ how strong Kida was as she clung to him. In case Tyrian had missed anything, he didn’t want to take the risk of fighting her. So he forced his shoulders to relax and let the woman hug him as much as she wanted. According to all the books and the music on the radio, she genuinely  _ was  _ trying to help. 

* * *

  
  


With the leeks….well,  _ mangled,  _ Hilda changed her mind again. She set Nora to chop up vegetables she actually  _ recognized  _ and went outside to the overflowing herb garden before returning with….stuff. Nora had gotten lost in the rhythm of chopping the carrots, beats, potatoes and radishes...and figuring out how to  **_DODGE_ ** Hilda herself, who would toss something else to her or grind something with the mortar and pestle and toss some ground herbs on the vegetables as she cut them. Hilda had also gone quiet, pulling a stone bowl from a cabinet and retrieving some dough to start kneading it. When Nora had finished chopping she was told to roast. A chicken had been pulled out of the ice box and the badass elderly woman had stuffed it haphazardly with the chopped vegetables, smaring the outside with pounded up herbs, before making a small fire inside the stone oven and setting the younger girl up to rotisserie. While Nora did that, Hilda baking inside some weird stone pot that was  _ ALSO  _ powered by raw dust. 

“You don’t do  _ anything  _ easy do you lady?” Nora couldn’t help asking as the woman pulled out the fresh baked loaf of bread and started to carve it. 

“The chicken is done” was her answer. Nora was OVERJOYED the chicken was done cause her arm was getting tired. 

“To answer your question. No, She doesn’t” Nora jumped about a foot in the air. She’d been so busy cooking she hadn’t noticed Tyrian come back, but he was in the corner of the kitchen with a wooden bucket in one hand, a purely black apple in the other, and a basket of similarly black apples curled up in his tail. “Don’t worry, I haven’t been inside long. She sent me to go churn butter.” That was  _ more _ worrying. Tyrian had come back from wherever he’d gone and received some  _ signal  _ to go do something else and Nora hadn’t noticed long enough for him to COME BACK! 

“You’ll spoil your dinner with sweets” Hilda grumbled as she turned to see what he had. “Give me the butter! And put away your TAIL before you HURT something!” Nora could only  _ watch _ as he let out a dark chuckle and  **_obeyed_ ** . He carefully leaned over to hand the bucket to a stunned Nora and transferred the apples to his hand as he curled his tail around his waist. 

“Here you go Nana” He said in a sing song. “And I picked up a chair for our guest.” Nora shuddered. Right…. _ dinner.  _ She looked behind him to the stone chair he had placed at the table. How had he dragged it over  **_without_ ** being heard. Hmmm, if the apples had been cradled by the tip, he may have used the rest of the tail. Actually, that all led into the much BIGGER concern of ‘how strong is that tail’ and the more important ‘is there any way to  _ stop  _ it?’ She’d seen Crescent Rose take out the original tip but was the rest of it just a lot  _ stronger _ the farther back it went? Was the strength proportional to the thickness cause he almost turned her lungs to powder for fun. 

“You didn’t have to. There’s another guest, and he was told to pick up two chairs.” Tyrian looked confused as he visibly deflated. 

“A  _ guest?  _ But  _ I’M  _ here! And I got you that Surprise you always wanted!!!!” He’d allegedly gone and gotten sanity but even ‘sane’ he was crazy, pouting at the idea of sharing his Nana with some stranger. Hilda for her part seemed all too  _ used  _ to the grown man acting like a spoiled toddler. 

“Yes, and I had a surprise for you  **_before_ ** I knew you were coming back ahead of schedule so honestly this is all your fault for surprising me.” Her voice was sharp but there was a smile playing around her face. “If I don’t have to drag him away from his new young lady friends” 

“My new lady friends are still not as interesting as you” There was a booming voice with a harsh gravely accent that wasn’t  **_quite_ ** identifiable and it was right outside the doorway. With a grunt, he forced himself inside the door, having to bend a bit to accommodate the strange sort of bulky armor that added to his already impressive height. The newcomers could be seen through the window that connected the kitchen to the living room. He held two stone chairs, one under each arm. Another chair was being held by a  _ stunning  _ young woman with a rope of golden hair and matching golden eyes. Her eyes roved the room and stopped on Nora, who couldn’t help the unconscious blush from the intense molten eyes on her. It was not helped at  _ all _ when the woman gave a smirk.

“ _ Hey _ , you’re new. Not often that Hilda hangs out with people. The ones she does I tend to like.” The stone chair was placed down gently as she walked past a Tyrian that had leaned back for her to Nora, a hand outstretched. “What’s  _ your  _ name?” Her mouth opened….then closed…..then opened again. The Fuck!? This was as bad as when Ren had hit puberty and she  _ noticed _ . Speak Nora SPEAK

“I don’t feel ignored at all” Tyrian said with a low chuckle. The woman gave a snort and turned to hug him. Yeah,  _ that fixed it _ but what the hell. Was that her semblance or something? Yeah….YEAH…. _ maybe.  _ Weaponized hotness. It was a semblance that Ren, Pyrrha, Jaune, and now THIS LADY all had. 

“You were here two weeks ago. I’m bored with you” The jab was said with a smile and Tyrian’s warm chuckle indicated that these two were friends. “I completely didn’t insist on having dinner early just cause I saw a Grimm come in on a non delivery day and hoped you swung by for a visit.” 

“Awwwe, keep it up I might get the wrong idea that you  _ care _ ” The woman snorted. Tyrian turned to introduce. “That’s Nora by the way.” The gold woman gave a little wave. 

“Hi Nora, I’m Nahara” Nora, not trusting her voice at the moment just nodded at the startlingly pretty woman. What  _ was _ she and why was it so hard to breathe with her around? 

“And I’m  _ not _ visiting. Just dropping Nora off. I wanted her to meet my Nana.” 

“I don’t care how hard she hits, she’s  **_WAY_ ** too young for you” Nahara snapped, pulling out of the hug to cross her arms and glare at Tyrian. “Try again, the answer is no. Lemmie block it before an opinion is made, I will kick your ass, and I’ll get  _ Mother  _ to kick your ass and THEN I’ll ask Kida to fix your scars.” As she spoke his grin turned down at the sides until he was shuddering at the notion of Kida fixing him. 

“Calm  _ down _ . Jeez. So  _ hostile. _ ” He shuddered again but shook it off. “And besides, as I’ve said, if I  _ had _ to pick a woman we ALL know it’d be you.” Nahara scoffed, but overdramatically  _ swooned _ for his benefit and, true friends, he caught her during her fake fainting spell. 

“So why  _ is  _ the little cutie here?” Nahara asked from her spot in Tyrian’s arms. Meanwhile the man had carefully placed his stone chair down by the table. Another young woman entered, arms crossed as she looked at the combination of Tyrian and Nahara being goofballs. 

“You weren't kidding when you called them besties” The older man said, with a smirk to the young woman.

“Si, they’re Fucking disgusting” Her words didn’t match the tired smile on her face. It was the same sort of smile you gave to a cat you loved too much to get rid of even after the third sofa they’d destroyed. Warm brown eyes settled on Nora, but rather than go over she nodded. “Sup, Audry, the girl with crazy is my sister. That” She pointed at the man “Is our other Hilda, since ‘The Hilda’ is like a title or sometin. I call him Papi.” 

“Don’t call me Hilda” The man deadpanned with a shake of his head. He turned to Hilda.“I don’t even know why you let them  _ call _ you ‘The’ Hilda. It’s stupid.” She nodded.

“New plan, you waste  _ years _ you’ll never get back trying to convince those hard heads of anything and  _ I  _ can stand back and snicker at the vain effort.”A smile pulled at both of their faces even as the two tried to resist the urge. “Go on, you’re full of hot air anyway” 

“I’m sorry,  _ MY _ semblance is out STUBBORNING people. Last I checked, you were the voice of insanity.” She gasped like she was actually offended at that, but she also lost the battle of keeping her face straight. “Also, you could just knock their heads together. It’s an option” He pointed out.

“Yes, but then there'd be a power vacuum and they might want  _ me  _ to fill it.” She shuddered. “I’d have to interact with those people more than strictly necessary. You already know my patience for people that  _ depend  _ on me for the brains they lack.” The man nodded with a deep chuckle. Audrey looked between the two with a flat expresion. Tyrian caught Audrey’s look and made the connection for himself as he put Nahara back on her two feet. 

“Oh NANA! Naughty Girl. Good for you!” Nora blinked then, looking at the battering pair came to the same conclusion as Audrey and Tyrian.  _ Hilda  _ blushed brightly. 

“Working on the moron.” Was all she said, and luckily for her, in a way that didn’t make it clear whether she was talking to or  _ about _ Tyrian. “How was patrol?” She asked instead, CHANGING THE SUBJECT. 

“The city is crawling with Grimm” The man grumbled angrily.

“And we  _ kept  _ Papi from swinging at a single one” Audrey said brightly. “I showed him around the mazes.” He nodded. 

“She also convinced me against landmines down here. Apparently the people are crazy and liable to wander into obvious traps.” He shook his head. “Cannon fodder. What good is a soldier without common sense?” 

“Cannon Fodder” Hilda agreed. 

“ _ Civilians _ ” Nahara pointed out. Hilda and the man both got the same sort of sheepish look of disappointment, as if they’d genuinely  _ forgotten _ that not everyone needed to be battle ready. “And there were no runners so Temporary Housing is operating efficiently.”

“Don’t know about that” Audrey spoke slowly, chocolate eyes darting between Hilda, the man, Tyrian and Nora. She raised an eyebrow to Tyrian and he gave a slight nod. “Yeah, T.H. is probs cuoco insane right now, let’s go check it out.” Nahara’s mouth opened in protest but Audrey was adamant. “And  _ leave them alone  _ for dinner. I mean...how often does Tyrian bring a guest? It’s probably real important.” Just like that, the lightbulb went off in Nahara’s head. 

“Oh? OOOHH OH! RIGHT, She’s so right. Gonna check that You know who isn’t trying to bring down Temp Housing. Bye Sir '' And she waved at the man, picking up the chair she’d brought. “See you bright and early for dawn training and morning patrol.” Nahara waved Audrey over and the teen didn’t need to be told twice to leave the room, hustling even with the wooden chair she held.

Five chairs, four people. Hilda clicked her tongue and Tyrian moved, leaving the cramped kitchen to go to the room and taking the chicken through the window. The vegetables that had roasted inside of said chicken were dumped out into a stone bowl for Nora. In one hand Tyrian held the chicken, while the other accepted some strange wooden plate that had caved up bread and some oddly golden butter. He whipped out his tail again to hold the apples. The food barely fit on the small table but Hilda still grabbed four tankards and a bottle of Valian Wine. Tyrian perched in what seemed to be his normal spot, the same far chair from before. Nora looked at the table eyes wide and quickly sat in Hilda’s spot. Sitting across from Tyrian was far better than sitting  _ next  _ to him. Hilda and the Mystery Man sat on either side of her. Hila passed out plates that were nearly held on laps and filled the tankards with wine.

“Tyrian, a little buzz please” He was careful. If Nora hadn’t seen it she wouldn’t have believed the concentration on his face as he delicately positioned his tail over the cups and released a  _ single drop _ into every one. 

“So….” And he was suspicious now, glaring softly at the man to his left. “Who are you and why do you make my Nana nervous?” Even though he was calmer his tail was still out and pointed at the man. Hilda looked at it dispassionately

“Put that  **_damned_ ** thing away I told you. I’m not  _ nervous _ I just wanted a  _ DRINK _ ” Nora reached for her cup. She was sitting across from Tyrian Callows after he kidnapped her and threatened her friends. She could use a very LARGE drink right now….she reached into her bra for her ‘worry stone’ instead. She didn’t want to drink his poison. Hilda took a deep breath. “I’m trying to best figure out how to broach the subject. He arrived last week, shortly after you left Tyr. And….there were some….extenuating circumstances that I didn’t know about”

“Hildy how many of my tags did you make Copies of?” The man demanded, close enough to Nora that he saw what she was fiddling with out of the corner of his eye.

“Tag?” Nora asked, clutching the tag tighter.

“What’d you think it was?” Hilda asked 

“ _ Your _ ?” Tyrian leaned towards the man. Tail making a heavy ‘ **Thunk** ’ on the floor as it fell limp. 

“A worry stone? Just made of metal? That’s what my mom used it as.” Nora said, well….that made sense with how she clutched at it.

“It’s a dog tag” The man said. “Military identification plates. One for your CO, one for the body. I gave mine to Hildy here cause I thought it was a suicide mission and I got her out.” 

“He never earned them back” Hilda spat, equal parts furious and amused. “After pulling a stunt like that he’s lucky I didn’t  _ melt _ them for what he did to me.”

“You were  **_PREGNANT”_ **

“You had NO RIGHT TO HAVE ME TRANSFERRED TO THE BACK”

“YOU WERE  **_PREGNANT!!!”_ **

“I’m sorry  _ your?”  _ Tryian had picked up on that tidbit and like a dog with a bone he wasn’t letting go. 

“I WASN’T GOING TO LET YOUR BULLHEADEDNESS KILL MY DAUGHTERS!”

“ **MY** BULLHEADEDNESS! I’m sorry, who was it that went to help an injured child and almost got themselves killed?”

“Not me!  _ I _ had on armor that deflected most of the blast. Armor, that thing you refused to wear even when pregnant.” 

“Armor that  **_SLOWED YOU DOWN_ ** while I took out a whole city state in Vale”

“I WAS SLOW BECAUSE I WAS LETTING MY INFANTRY REST!” He sighed, then smirked at her. “Why is everything always  _ speed  _ with you? Do you have any idea how many letters I got cause the medics couldn’t find your people?” She chuckled, deeply proud of that. 

“EXCUSE ME” And Tyrian slammed his hands on the small spaces at either side of the table. “Why the FUCK did you say My??” The man sighed. 

“Because they were  _ mine _ .” Tyrian stared in shock so the man continued. “I was frozen, just thawed out a month ago. First thing’s first. Check Solitas and roll my eyes at the state of those idiots in Atlas.” His scowl could be classified as its own weapon. He really hated Atlas then. Goody. “Then, find Hilda’s bones to give them a proper military funeral.” The harsh expression melted into a fond smile. “Eighty Years and she was still kicking” 

“Can you  _ believe  _ he had the audacity to come here and demand what was left of my corpse? HA '' With no table space she settled for slamming her fist against her own chest. “Like I’d make  _ anyone’s  _ life easier by dying.” There was a long silence in which Tyrian stared at the man. “He arrived last week. Jorge...this is Tyrian. Our grandson…” Jorge looked at Tyrian stone faced. Hilda tried again. “Tyrian...surprise?”

“Praise be to the goddess” Tyrian said softly. Jorge resisted the urge to snort. Hilda had been trying, but he didn’t understand the whole ‘worshipping the Queen of Grimm’ thing. He got that no one knew where she  _ was _ to attack her, but really, strap a bomb on Tyrian and let him do it. Boy was dedicated to the wrong things. 

“So how many copies did you make?” Jorge asked again, looking at Nora to try and figure out who she was and why she warranted a copy. 

“I didn’t. I gave one to Helga.” and she gestured to Tyian. “When she died her son brought it back to me. And the one I gave Sara she gave to her daughter...who gave it to her own kid. Tyr found her and brought her here”

“Sur….Surprise?” Tyr’s eyes were wide as he looked at Jorge. Jorge made a gentle hum. 

“How do they fight?” 

“I trained Tyrian so he can massacre a room full of people in less than a minute.” Nora shuddered as Jorge nodded. “I met the girl today. I’ll start her training in the morning. No one taught her shit.”

“HEY!”

“She couldn’t land a direct hit under the influence of my  _ semblance” _ Okay,  **now** it was time for that drink.


	10. I can show you the world.....around at least

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's hoping everyone's staying safe. What started as a 'chill they are overestimating and I get extra time on spring break' has quickly spiraled into 'Dystopian hellscape' Tough it's great for introverts like me. All plans were cancelled and I don't feel guilty. All jokes aside, stay safe, wash hands, cover your cough and propbs take a shower after going to the overcrowded supermarket. Have a great pandemic.....as great as it can be I mean.

Jaune’s eyes drifted shut again….And he FORCED them open again. He didn’t realize that Brendon, jerky, easygoing, laughing, smiling, made the mistake of thinking the guy might be cool,  _ Brendon _ was this anal. ‘Tell me everything’ had culminated in the guy giving him  _ diaries _ of information and Old Videos and photo albums. And not NORMAL diaries no. These were diaries on the building of the town and the forming of the leaders. Apparently, it used to be a town of refugees. They’d built it all the way up from scratch. There were horrible Grimm attacks, but they were able to hold them back with dust and, since the first settlers were from Mantle and had been running away from something, they suppressed all but joy. Then the Grimm stopped. He only got _ there _ after reading HE DIDN’T KNOW how many  _ years _ worth of shipping notifications and census information and he DIDN’T CARE how many Mantle refugees had come or how much rainwater had been collected on a particular week and he definitely didn't care about census information or resource management that made him double check the math on the amount of rainwater necessary to maintain the log of weapons taken from Mantle. He was still looking between seven research books of absolute bullshit and he had a FUCK TON more to get through and  _ Brendon _ , whom was supposed to be helping him had pulled out all this usless information and  _ left _ . The ledgers started from whenever the fuck someone had sarted assigning people to write it all down and he didn’t realize  _ how _ far back he was until he got to a woman named Marie from Vale who had cited her reason for leaving as ‘whispers of war’. Fuck. He’d read through at least twenty years of backlogs and there was still nothing here and it was now a time period of at  _ least  _ 80 years ago, maybe a hundred. He was looking for a  _ twenty three _ year old. Fuck all of this. Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK. Each ‘fuck’he thought was puncuated with another thud of his head on the Old Mantle to Modern Common dictionary he was using to translate all of this crap. 

“So…” He jumped at the sound of the rough voice. “Why do you hate yourself?” The guy standing behind him was equal parts gorgeous and covered in tattoos. Was there a tattoo machine here? It didn’t seem likely. 

“What do you mean? I love reading….” Jaune turned his head to check exactly what he was reading and groaned. “Apparently scout reports and supply details from the first Valiens…. Whoo. Party” the guy snorted. 

“Fuck.” Jaune was delirious from lack of entertainment. And whatever Kida hadn’t managed to clear away. That was the only reason he shuddered from the rough sound. Actually, without coffee, plus the fight with Tyrian. Maybe he  _ was _ just tired. He turned his head back to try and force himself to go back to reading, now intensely aware of the man that had been watching him. He still felt eyes on him, so the guy hadn’t left. It was hard enough to pay attention to awful stuff he didn’t feel like reading  _ without _ being scrunctized. But after a bit he couldn’t take it turning to glare at the guy with a 

“WHA.-ah….um” Yeah he’d been  _ meaning _ to give a bark, but he’d also been expecting the guy to still be across the room. Instead when he’d half risien to glare he'd turned directly into bright blue eyes shining with amusement. “Ummm” He cleared his throat. “Do you not have a concept of ‘personal space?’” A brow raised and there was a chuckle and a disarming smile. 

“New here huh?” Jaune blinked a few times. Either he’d somehow blown his cover again or the guy was some test Brendon sent to see what he did. As nice as Brendon had seemed, Jaune didn’t put it past the guy to try and trip him up to make sure he wasn’t killed later. 

“What gives you that impression?” Jaune stuttered. The guy hummed.

“Well, firstly-re reading all this shit is  _ my _ job and... _ I _ don’t even do it. Secondly, you asked about personal space. I was here a week before I realized that the concept didn’t exist.” that...between how friendly Kida was and the fact that Brendon had been timing him on waking up and then been  _ staring at him sleep  _ that actually made sense. “Also, third, I haven’t seen you around before. Name’s Andy” And he stuck out his hand to shake, clad in black leather fingerless gloves. 

“Caspien” Jaune said, shaking the hand. “I...I just got  _ back _ . Lost my memories out in the ‘taint’. And Brendon felt the need to have me read through all of this” And he gestured to the massive pile. 

“Well  _ that’s _ stupid.” Andy said, a frown pulling at his lips. “But then again, Brendon’s stupid so.” He shrugged. “Come on” And Andy used their still connected hands to haul Jaune up.

“What are you doing?” Jaune asked, a knee jerk reaction. Brendon was connected to Kida, Kida was keeping an eye on Ren and Qrow. Therefore he didn’t want to upset Brendon. “I’ve gotta read this and jog my memories” Andy snorted.

“We  _ both _ know shipping manifestos aren’t gonna jog shit.” And there was his blood running cold again. “I’ll show you around, let ya talk to Father. He knows everything there is to know. Talking to people that knew you is the way to get info-We’ll stop by Millie Song….just don’t tell her I call her that. She’ll take one look at your clothes and tell you everything. The Hilda knows EVERYTHING….and nothing all at once, it’s weird. Getting info from Brendon or Kida is like pulling teeth though.” And there was the calm again as Andy looked away with a slightly haunted look. Okay, he was starting to get what Brendon meant by being Caspien and not just pretend. He’d slip up pretending, panic that someone knew the truth. “Comeon.” And the bright bubbliness was back. “Let’s make some noise before the Killjoy comes back.” And it was a combination of the wink, the grin, and the fact that he  _ REALLY  _ didn’t want to keep reading shipping manifestos from before the great war that got him to follow the slightly taller male out of the room.

  
  


"See. Now isn't it easier to remember stuff  _ not _ locked into that claustrophobic ass room?" Jaune was blinking in the light of the dust. It was actually  _ beautiful _ here, almost like walking amidst the stars themselves, soft light bathing everything and brighter shimmers flaring up like starlight. The buildings were artwork. Architecturally stunning artwork carved out of and into the cavern walls themselves. The dust hadn’t been randomly placed, while not entirely visible in low light, in the darkness of night it created intricate patterns as it wove through arches and lit up doors like center stages. There were a lot more people milling about now, happily walking as they went about their business. "Yeah" Jaune looked back at Andy. 

"I….what?"

"That look on your face" and as he spoke he tossed his head back, flicking ginger tipped black and blonde hair back. "That's the ‘ _ whoa this place is amazing’ _ look. I've seen it a lot. I'll never forget town square. Hey, follow me” And the man took off at an easy jog for a bit, going to a sort of tower across the square and standing in a rope and pulley operated box. Jaune followed somewhat reluctantly as Andy pulled them up to the top of the tower, which had a few other people all praying quietly. He directed Jaune’s attention to the building they'd just snuck out of. 

The Giant statue of Salem was almost enough to make him shudder….almost. While it was true she was so big that the door to the building was her skirt, she didn’t look angry like she had in Emerald’s vision. Her head was high and illuminated by the dust that hung from her stone hair in pendents. Her eyes seemed to further glow, red burning brightly as she observed the people. Someone had an awful lot of talent and even more respect for her, for even from this distance her skin looked almost real and her dress itself shone iridescent, colors peaking through the darkness. She was painted. And it was only in realizing that, that Jaune realized, she was the  _ only  _ thing painted in the square, and even then, just her hands. There were pores on her face, and the same red that framed her eyes, crawled across her cheeks. No natural curves or bends on her dress and Jaune realized it was metal. And with that color she was probably Zirconium. He squinted but there were no welding marks on her. Each part of her dress had been carefully woven around her. Artistic licence was also probably what gave her swirling skirts. Her left hand was extended, granting a blessing to all that passed under it and through the doors of her skirts. Her right hand was raised, gently and absentmindedly petting a Nevermore beneath meticulously formed fingertips. He leaned forward for a better look at the composition and realized that he was about to fall only by the hand that grasped his shoulder to pull him back and the opera glasses that were wordlessly handed to him. Pearls. No wonder her face shone. It was constructed by what looked like  _ millions _ of carefully selected pearls and the red lines that framed her were fire opals. It would have been so much easier to carve her from the wall as everything else was, but Salem was 3-D, head turned toward her subjects and body at a three quartered angle. It almost looked like she was moving, the building just a stationary object she happened to glide over on her way to say hello to her people. There was even a hint of a smile on lips made of rubies. 

The simple fact was that Jaune was a sucker for artwork, and looking at this one he became lost in memories. In Beacon, Ren and Nora had nightmares. Nora let out lightning until she was woken up. Pyrrha, who they found out was mostly immune to lightning, could sit next to Nora and would often get cuddled as her hair was gently brushed. By the second week in, Pyrrha was sleeping in the same bed as Nora to stop the thoughts before they had a chance to claw to the surfaces and disturb her sleep. Ren wasn’t as lucky. He woke up quietly, choking back tears. Growing up with six sisters,Jaune had developed sort of a sixth sense when someone was awake, all Arcs did. Just like Safron was able to be waiting in the kitchen for him with a mug of tea when there was a storm and he’d creep into Cyan’s room cause going to bed early meant waking up at night. No matter how quiet Ren was when he got up, Jaune wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep until he was sure of the other’s safety. Ren would be found in the bathroom and so away from the girls, making charcoal recreations of the paintings he’d seen as a child. After a few days Jaune had settled to watch him draw, perched on the sink while the brunette took the toilet. A few weeks in it was whispered conversations so that they wouldn’t wake the girls as the two spoke about compositions and inspiration and how art impacted music and the reverse. Jaune would lock the sound in the bathroom and play softly to Ren’s work. Often the shorter boy would drift off and Jaune could scoop him up and put him back to bed with a small smile on his face...come to think of it...Jaune hadn’t seen Ren draw since the Fall. 

“The goddess is Gorgeous.” Jaune said, meaning every word of it. The statue could be seen as many things based on your interpretation of Salem herself. The only truths were that she was massive, all encompassing and  _ watching. _ If you were a fan of her, it was probably comforting to know that she was always looking out for you.And if you  _ didn’t _ like her, well it was certainly something to keep in mind, that she was always there, and willing to play nice if you were, but ALL too ready to destroy you if you weren't. 

“She is” Andy sighed, a small smile on his face as he looked at her, less concerned with composition and more in awe at the complete picture. “She takes in the lost and broken and gives them the home they know they aren't worthy of.”

“What kind of home is that?” Jaune’s voice is soft. “I read the shipping manifest. Mantle overcharges for everything. And where’d the pearls come from? You guys are pretty far from” He’s interrupted by Andy’s gentle laughter.

“It’s a kind of home where all the wealth is given to the Goddess cause we have no need for it.” He shrugs. “There’s no money here. You need clothes, you ask for them. Same with food. You’re assigned a house and you can always have guests over.” He shrugs. “You should probably say you wanna bunk with me or Brendon’ll drag you home with him. You don’t want that.” He shook his head. “Brendon lives with Mother. She’s one of the worst things about this place, biting, cold, cruel, she’s a real bitch.” Jaune nodded his head in agreement. He’d seen her in action. She was equal parts dangerous and monstrous. … and apparently one of his best friends. He sighed. Brendon, connected to Kida had told him to avoid Father like the plague. 

“This place is weird.” He sighed. “It’s like…. _ everything  _ is wrong here….but at the same time” And his eyes drifted from the statue to the people milling around underneath it. That much mindless wealth after seeing how Atlas treated Mantle was horrific. But this...the people weren't half starved or miserable. There wasn’t a rag in sight, he may have thought that there was some class difference at work, Kinda dressed in simple robes and Mother in full petticoats and corset, but Brendon looked like a fashionable clock come to life and Andy looked relatively normal. He was in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and leather gloves with leather pants and suspenders. ….. Okay maybe not  _ normal  _ but not petticoats. The people here looked happy, blissful almost. It was the kind of joy you didn’t even find in Argus where there were always a few people worrying about bills or food or….a child that had wandered away. There wasn’t the sense of helplessness that seemed to permeate everywhere else. And of course the Grimm. The people were unafraid of the Grimm here. They were odd here. A good few of them seemed normal enough, your run of the mill beowulfs creeps and nevermores, but there were a few that were horribly deformed, shambling creatures that weren’t fully formed, or huge things with wings made of blinking eyes. Rather than terrified, the people parted like rivers around stones for the creatures and the Grimm themselves didn’t bother the people. It was  _ fascinating _ . Andy watched gently as Jaune's words died. Then the older man blinked and tilted his head before...

“Comeon!” Andy was pulling at Jaune again, he took the opera glasses and placed them back in a container with a few others. He followed closely the man with the tri toned hair as they bobbed and weaved through the crowd. “You need a new look! Millie it is.” They cut through the square to the other side and into a building. As the door closed behind him Jaune heard it, a faint call of the name ‘Caspien’ from...

“Is that Brendon?” Andy blinked and looked at him. 

“Maybe? I mean, he might be trying to trap you into doing my job? Trust me, you don’t wanna be there.” He spoke as they went further into the building, passing by people with looms and people sitting down in rows hand sewing. “ Let’s see if Millie’s around.” Andy’s grip was tight. So….going back to Bendon wasn’t an immediate option. Stay calm. No telling who was the frying pan or the fire in this situation. 

“I have told you  _ so  _ many times not to call me that Andrew.” Jaune looked up at the tired looking woman that entered from the room they were about to duck into. Her long blonde hair was pinned up into an elaborate updo that she topped with a hat. A shawl and a tight corset and a ballgown skirt over  _ combat boots _ . There was no doubt she was put together, but Jaune was trying to figure out why she’d put herself together for such an old style.

“This is Caspian. Lady Song.” Andy introduced, guiding Jaune to stand in front him. Lady Song narrowed her eyes at him as she looked him up and down. 

“Well, they found a suitable replacement at least” She also seemed to be part of the ‘no concept of personal space’ gang cause she leaned forward to  _ grab and pull _ at his hair. “Even found a decent shade match. But he’d never be seen dead in  _ that _ nonsense.” Her slate grey eyes looked practically  _ threw _ him. “I mean honestly, what  _ is  _ the red scarf supposed to be doing? And Denim?” Her scoff was the most offended sound he’d ever heard, which was saying something. She pulled him by his hair away from Andy and spun him around to get a good look at him. “I see why you were picked up. This armor’s a dead ringer.” Her gloved hand lingered a bit over a tiny dent that no one had ever been able to buff out. “Strip and I’ll fix you up, starting with that  _ ridiculous  _ scarf.” 

“The scarf is in honor of a friend. It’s hers. It… it  _ was _ hers.” Jaune said, hand going to his waist to defend Pyrrha. “And for your information I  _ am  _ Caspien” Because this woman wasn’t being hush hush about it in a secret corner. This woman was in a large open area  _ full  _ of people including a confused looking Andy. “Kida, Brendon, Tyrian and Mother all figured it out. I got lost and got amnesia. I’m back.” 

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “You’re back just like that. And with  _ amnesia.  _ Isn’t that convenient? Stops me from asking relevant questions like where you were, what you’ve been doing all this time. Where you got the sword.”

“Stole it” The answer is true but he can pick up from the fact that the kid ran off at ten that he was probably a rule breaker. There was a beat or two while she processed that, then she smirked.

“Well you have the same sense of humor at least. Fine. Off with the scarf and with the armor lets see what I can do for tomorrow” She looked him up and down again. “A hat for starters to cover the artichoke that went rotten on your head.” 

“I cut my hair myself.” He protested. 

“I hope so, otherwise your blind barber lost a fight while doing it!” Jaune flinched. He  _ thought _ he’d done a decent job. Nora seemed to like it, and the moms did. Granted Ren just gave a tight smile when asked about it and he  _ was  _ the truthful one. “Comeon. I don’t have all day. Off with the scarf, off with the armour and strip the rest or  _ I’ll _ strip you and you’ll be subject to the mercy of my non-existent kindness.” Jaune was bewildered by the woman in front of him which was apparently the wrong move as his arm raised without his consent, the thread of his sleeve ripping itself up and off with the gentle blue glow of her aura. 

“OKAY CALM DOWN I JUST….in a room with a  _ lot _ of people.” Her eyebrow raised. 

“No worries Caspien.” Oh yeah, he’d almost forgotten about the guy hauling him around. “Trust me  _ you _ have nothing to hide.” While Andy was cute and all, the wink reminded him a  _ touch  _ too much of the moms. 

“You!” and the finger pointed to Andy “Stay out here” And Andy raised both hands in the customary sign of surrender as he backed away. “Come along blondie” She barked, grabbing Jaune by the wrist to pull him into another room. 

Away from Jaune, Andy stepped to the side and took an intricate dagger from his pocket. Said dagger was gently wedged into a wall before he pressed the red button on his watch. It was less than a minute before the dagger started glowing and formed into the shape of a young woman holding both it and another dagger in hand. As the glow faded the woman was revealed as an angry looking Lupita. 

“What did you need?” She asked, voice sharp after the two of them had their respective naps. 

“There’s a new person here. Caspien, but he says he’s old. I didn’t want to bother Father with nothingness. I’m keeping him from Brendon so Mother doesn't poison his brain.” Lupita rolled ruby eyes, but let go of the knife on the wall to grab the boy by the neck. They both started to glow. 

* * *

Something was…. _ wrong _ . ….  _ Something _ was wrong. Something was  _ horribly  _ wrong, but everytime he tried to think of _ what, _ it slipped through his fingers like smoke. Qrow was sitting on the bed and trying to think. Failing, but trying all the same. His eyes roved over the room again. Desk, chair, lil library, radio playing obnoxious praise music that he’d turned as low as it could go so he could think. He was still struck by something wrong. ….. Which was partly caused by the dual contradicting facts of-he didn’t know where he was, and he was calm. That MORE THAN ANYTHING was alarming. He’d woken up in plenty of bars, plenty of hotels, plenty of streets and PLENTY of prisons. This was none of them. First waking up he’d pegged a hotel just from how  _ nice _ the room was. But the only times he bothered with hotels he had some ‘ _ company _ ’ for the night. He was alone and on a twin bed. Alone, on a bed, and not at home would usually mean prison, but sometimes he’d done some work earlier in the day and the bar staff would put him in the connected inn if there was one. His mouth didn’t taste like alcohol and he wasn’t  _ surprised _ that it didn’t which...was a whole other situation to dissect once he finished with the preliminary situation. It wasn’t even that there were necessarily  _ gaps _ in his memory. Information would rise and before he could understand it, gone. It was the same feeling you got waking up from a particularly  _ good _ sleep. One where you had to shake off the cobwebs afterward while you hovered between full consciousness and a pleasant dream….one he hadn’t had in the longest….no….he slept that well on the farm….with the….. The Grimm…. What else had…..and the thought was gone once more. He groaned, glaring out through his glass wall to the identical room on the other side. See, the whole individualised room thing made him think prison, but there was no prison he’d ever been in that would give him a processing cell alone. And this was  **WAY** too nice for a formal prision cell. Even the cells in  _ Atlas _ weren’t this nice…….Atlas. Something important in Atlas. The girls. Ruby had been laughing at him, cause he’d gotten flustered again with Clover…..  _ Who the fuck is Clover _

“Mr. Qrow Branwen!” He startled back to the world of the living to look at the Young Woman outside of his…..  _ Room?  _ For lack of a better word he’d stick to room. A very  _ cell like _ room. 

“Hey there…” He trailed off for her to give him a name. Instead she frowned harshly and put her hand to the side of the wall. The glass sank into the ground and she came inside with a plate of food that she placed on the desk before going to the bed and plopping herself on his lap to best take his face in her hands. “Uhhh. Lady?” His eyes darted behind her to where the door had slid back up. Well, that….wasn’t exactly…. _ promising _

“Apologies. My name is Kida, I am The Healer here and I work in temporary housing.  _ You  _ Mr. Qrow Branwen are exhibiting worrying symptoms. I told you to eat the salad.” As she spoke she moved a finger in front of his face and watched his eyes subconsciously track it. Her scowl got worse. 

“Temporary Housing? I’m in a housing program?” He asked her at once. She shook fluffy white hair. 

“Yes and no sir. All new citizens of Crucible stay here in Temporary housing until a suitable housing unit for them is found. Said Housing unit is selected by what you want to do, what you like to do, what jobs are available, and-to a degree-how well you behave.” Her voice was nice and all, but the words weren’t connecting right. This was a Cult. Nothing about  _ any  _ of that sentence said anything other than cult and that was fine. Was he infiltrating the cult to get more information on them? Did Oz send him here? Oz was….a farm? Again the thought was gone. 

“Where’s my weapon?” He asked instead, keeping his voice level. 

“Confiscated due to improper behavior.” Well FUCK, He was in  _ cult  _ prision. No wonder the rooms were so nice. “You should feel better once you eat all of your dinner and wake up in the morning.” 

“Wait, are you the girl to go to if I have questions cause I’ve got a few” Before he could ask one her watch went off. Huh, a scroll in your watch. That was new. “Brendon” She answered, not moving off of Qrow. “I’m a bit busy right now, what’s the matter.”

“Okay” The male voice that came from the watch was both chipper and _strained._ Now, Don’t freak.” Her scowl grew. “Nothing happened. It’s **_probably_** fine.” A clearing of his throat as Kida snarled. “I let Caspian comb through the archives cause I figured it would take **_forever_** and I could get some work done. And I did, I wrote another song and made a whole new book. I just…. _maybe_ and it’s NOT as bad as it seems, I lost Caspian……”

  
  


“YOU  **_WHAT!!!!!!”_ **


	11. Chapter 11

This should have been the dinner party from Hell. That didn't mean it was good or anything no, no one was crazy enough to imply that. The jury just was still out on if it was  _ decent _ . Let's look at pros and cons. Pros, these people might be her family. Cons…..that family was looking like Tyrian, angry funny lady, and weirdly young looking  _ Great _ Grandfather. ….. Oh boy. To calm down her nerves she took some bread and butter. Holy SHIT! The Bread was some spiced sour dough thing and the butter was blended with sugar and honey and cinnamon. She didn't even register eating it. One bite marveling at the taste...then it was  _ gone. _ She reached for another when Hilda tsked at her. Right, food…. This was too weird, and Ren wasn’t allowed to eat. Was Jaune alright? And the man that had KIDNAPPED Them all was across from her  _ perched  _ on a chair. She took a sip to calm her nerves and felt INSTANT regret. It wasn’t that the wine was bad, no. She’d dealt with bad wine before, cleaned wounds with rotten over fermented stuff that she took a swig of for it to be vinegar. It wasn’t that the wine was bad. It was that the addition of the poison gave it WAY more of a kick than she’d been expecting. She wasn’t some lightweight, she’d figured out that if you were dizzy from drinking you’d go to sleep and wouldn’t feel hungry or cold. Granted, she hadn’t done that for awhile cause Ren hadn’t liked the dizzy feeling. He didn’t trust it and so they were forced to get actual food. That being said, she could usually take a few swigs of harder stuff before she was out of it. It felt like she was on a boat…..and run over by a Death Stalker…... _ at the same time _ . Shit. It ate out the lil bit of Aura she’d replenished as well as making the booze hit harder.

“Really Girlie? A drop of poison and you’re gone!” Hilda was rolling her eyes, all six of them. Nora swallowed back her bile and forced herself to focus. Jorge raised three of his eyebrows and the three of him all took sips of wine. 

“Oh….” He smirked. “Oh this has some  _ kick.  _ A bit much for a little girl though. Hildy, do you have any water for her?” Hilda scoffed. 

“Once we get you in fighting order we’ll get you in  _ drinking  _ order. A little kickback shouldn’t land you on the ground. I blame  _ Vale _ . Perfectly good genes from your Great-Grandparents and just one generation down fucked it all over for you!” Nora moved very slowly. 

“Nuhou’ o’ ih.” Was she slurring? She may have been slurring. Slurring or not she was able to push a few veggies on her fork and guide it haphazardly near her mouth. She was aware that she was being watched, and of Hilda switching out her tankard wine with a mug of tea. Nora Valkyrie was no DAMN QUITTER. She managed three bites before the wave of nausea hit and she had to stop. This caused Jorge the  _ utmost _ amusement for he gave a rumbling laugh. 

“Even if she didn’t have the tag, that’s your stubbornness!”

“Oh! And who was just bragging about stubbornness being so crucial to them that their very  _ semblance  _ was being stubborn? I think it was  _ you  _ skinny” Jorge scoffed in offence. 

“ _ How dare you _ !? I’m just as beefy as I was when I went in the ice.” They were laughing on either side of her now as she forced herself to swallow. There was too much noise. 

“M’ na….not weak” She shook her head. A terrible decision as the room started spinning again. Shit. She took a deep breath through her nose as someone nudged the tea to her mouth and she took a swig to appease them. Said swig made her almost BARF but she took another deep breath and focused on her slowly spinning plate. ….The plate that was getting slower. 

“Another sip” That was Tyrian, and she was equal parts upset that he sounded concerned and that  _ he _ was the one nudging the actually helpful tea to her. ….. With his  _ tail _ .She shuddered, the tip of his dextrous tail was curled around the mug and holding it for her. Her eyes widened as she fell back to normal.

“I’m also not hungry” She grumbled. As she’d only eaten a bit of breakfast, that was a lie, as her tratious stomach felt the need to let her lie out for the world to know. 

“Not Hungry eh?” Hilda asked with a smirk. “Come on skinny. You’ll need the energy for tomorrow.” 

“What’s tomorrow?” Tyrian asked, tilting his head. Nora leaned back, eyes fixed on the stinger. 

“With  _ my  _ luck, you try to kill me again.” She grumbled. Unfortunately, that just caused the Faunus to laugh uproariously. 

“Well your luck has run out on that I’m afraid. I’m leaving as soon as dinner is over” He grinned widely as he reached over and snatched a piece of bread, smearing butter on it. As he ate the bread Hilda’s eyes narrowed. 

“Did you  _ infect _ the butter?” She demanded. He chuckled again and nodded. She sighed and scowled at the butter. 

“Infected?” Nora felt her heart drop. Tyrian was completely unabashed as he nodded.Oh, so it wasn’t one drop of poison she was dealing with. How crazy was he? Wanting to gather his whole family in one spot just so he could murder them in one fell swoop. Was the tea even safe? Why was he playing with her like this?

“MY BREAD IS GOOD WITHOUT THE SUGAR AND HONEY YOU DEMENTED DEMON” Oh…..the sugar and honey. That…. That wasn’t so bad….in fact it was kinda good...kinda _ really _ good the bread was amazing with it. …. Crap.

“I never said it  _ wasn’t  _ Nana. I have a sweet tooth, you know this. Besides, we  **_both_ ** know I’ll be taking the rest of the butter with me after dinner.” Hilda groaned at that.”First the apples, now the butter. What were you doing while we were gathering ingredients and cooking? It doesn’t take you that long to get Health. Were you just getting as many sweets as you could get your hands on?”

“NO!” He even reared up to defend himself. “I got pulled over by Kida for her to ask about a full drain. I have something I’m doing but I gave her about a quarter, then we both stopped by Millie.” He stopped to grin at Nora. “Your friend is  **_plucky_ ** . If he answers all his questions well enough he’ll get slotted into the seamsters. Luckily for him, Millie and I are old friends. I’ll put in a good word….granted she’s mad at me because I just asked for a  _ favor _ but still.” As he spoke the door was knocked at angrilly. “That’s probably her. Damn….I was  _ hoping  _ I'd be gone before she could yell at me.” With a chuckle, Hilda got up to open the door and and black lightning cloud stormed in. Not in that she was literally made of lightning, just that she was that angry. 

“CALLOWS!” The lightning woman stopped short to nod her head. “Glad to see you’re doing well Madame Valkyrie, Hello Sir. Jorge.” Hilda chuckled at the girl and moved slightly so that the blonde could continue her warpath. “CALLOWS!!!” 

“Hey Millie” He did get up then to intercept her storming over as he navigated around the small room to give her a hug without her having to come any further into the cramped space. Though she was angry, she still hugged him as Hilda shook her head and took her plate to the couch. Jorge turned from the table to eat while he kept flirting with her….sorry, ‘talking’. Nora was too floored by the oddness of the situation to pay much attention to the bantering from the old folks home. She reluctantly grabbed more bread and butter. What!? It was good!!! And it went well with the bitter tea. Another slice gone, she had some of the well spiced chicken and a few of the really good vegetables....she put some of the butter on the vegetables. It reminded her of the first time Ren cooked her honey roasted carrots so that she’d actually eat them. She’d picked up really fast that if something tasted funny it was probably poison. Berries were sweet and the ones that tasted bitter only birds could eat. Green Leafy stuff usually tasted bad, and so did carrots. Ren had needed to get creative with the stuff she actually ate once her….mild paranoia, wasn’t needed as much. 

“Don’t you  _ Hey Millie _ me Callows! How dare you give the idiots working under me a list of random FUCKING mesurements!” 

“It wasn’t RANDOM!” He protested. “My tail takes WONDERFUL measurement I’ll have you know! It was entirely around her hips, chest and even got a good bit up her neck!” As he spoke he twisted his tail around an invisible Nora the way he had when he’d first threatened her in Solitas. “You need to trust your assistants more. They took fine measurements”

“Except, dumb fuck, you  _ squease _ ” He blinked at that, as it the thought hadn’t occured to him. “ _ I _ luckily for you am, actually intelligent. I accounted for you being an idiot and added four inches, doubling the seam allowance.” She jerked her head and a blue tinted burlap sack floated in from outside. Then she looked at him in her rage and her jaw  _ dropped _ “WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS HAPPENED TO YOUR  _ TAIL!!!!” _ He flinched. This was either going to be long and annoying or long and  _ painful.  _ He didn’t want her to cry so he opted for annoying, using said tail to hug her more closely. 

“A little accident . I’m fine Arthur fixed it.”

“YOU CALL THAT A FIX! TYRIAN IT’S  _ SILVER.  _ What happened to your lovely  _ dark brown  _ tail to match your lovely  _ dark brown hair _ ” His whole upper body slumped in her arms. “And purple accents! Tyrian you can’t wear bright colors, you’re too sallow. You need something to contrast!” Her voice hadn’t changed from it’s perpetually pissed off tone, but she was clinging just a little. 

“I’ll make it a fashion statement. How to look good wearing things you  _ really _ shouldn’t.” Her hands spasmed in their cling. Good, work the angle. Angry he could deal with, he could  _ never  _ manage sad. “My whole family has it, my niece is a redhead that wears 

“REDHEAD! I  **_HATE_ ** THAT WORD!” Ah,  _ there  _ she was! “You can’t just tell those idiots ‘redhead’ Copper, rust, auburn, burgundy, fire dust, sunlight, your Nan WHICH REDHEAD!” He pouted slightly for her benefit and she used the fact that he had to bend down to nearly pull her into their hug to smack him upside the head. 

“I told them the colors she wore!” He protested as he let go of her so that she couldn’t hit him again. 

“Ah yes, Pink, white, black and blue…… Baby pink? Hot pink? Neon pink? Pastel Pink? What about white? True White, cream, off-white, eggshell, ivory? Tyr I adore you but your eye for color is as fucked as your eye for fashion.” Nora couldn’t help the snort at that, dragging the woman’s attention over to her. “Is that the one? Tyr that’s a true red, a sun kissed copper with orange lowlights.” Tyrian turned to squint as Nora as if trying to pinpoint the colors mentioned. The blonde woman walked over, hand out. “Melinda Song nice to meet you” It doesn’t sound like a ‘nice to meet you’ it sounds like a ‘fucking die for getting in my way’. Still her hand was out expectantly so Nora shook said hand to avoid getting a smack herself. 

“Are you staying for Dinner Millie?” Hilda asked, causing the woman to splutter. 

“I should think not Madame Valkyrie. I have to get back to the others before they manage to burn down the factory.” Hilda gave an angry sounding hum at that. “I’m just  _ fine _ Madame Valkyrie. I still have leftovers from when I was here to replace the leather binding on your armor. Not to mention the food you tell the scouts to get me.” She rolled her grey eyes. “I’m not going to blow away, there’s too little wind down here and I’m in far too much fabric.” Melinda yelped as Hilda scowled and moved to stand. 

“You look Skinny” It was almost a  _ threat _ coming from the elderly woman and Melinda jerked her fingers to zoom the burlap sack directly to Nora. 

“Come to me first thing tomorrow if anything doesn’t fit.” She narrowed her eyes, looking at the young lady. “Actually, come to me first thing tomorrow  _ anyway.  _ He didn’t mention your eyes were TEAL.” She shook her head and glared at Tyrian again. “I’ll get on you for that tomorrow when you drop her off.” He grinned widely. 

“You’ll have to save it for next month. I’m leaving right after dinner.” Melinda raised an eyebrow at that, looking at the food and the tableau for a moment before snorting. 

“Then you shouldn’t have gone to your Nana.” She said with a smirk. “Madame Valkyrie are you singing tomorrow?” She asked. Hilda shook her head. 

“Speaking, along with Li. Brendon’s the featured singer tomorrow.”

“Not Tyrian? I thought things moved around so that he could speak or sing whenever he was here for Worship.” 

“Except I  _ won’t _ be here.” He protested. “I’m leaving right after dinner!” This prompted a sharp laugh from Melinda as she turned to go. “OH MILLIE!” She turned back. 

“Out with it, I have more important things to do than let you bother me. By which I mean anything at all.” Nora went to open the bag. She caught sight of black and white fabric before Hilda clicked her tongue. She closed it and turned back to the table, using the bread to scoop up some of the veggies. 

“Nora has a little friend. If you get any new applications from Kida.”

“I don’t  _ send  _ applications to anyone still in Temporary. When their bugs are worked out  _ then  _ they can come to me.”

“Ah, but I know where you  _ keep _ them.” Her jaw dropped, she looked actually offended but Tyrian crouched and picked the small woman up in a hug as he rocked her. “Pretty please? For  _ me” _ She was glaring at him for almost a solid minute before she sighed in defeat. 

“You’re a terror” All of her previous heat was gone and she was smirking slightly even as she said it. Hilda scoffed and moved back to her spot. Tyrian squeezed Millie tightly. 

“It’s a talent” He recited. With a final squease she was released to go storming back to whatever ‘factory’ was being ‘ _ destroyed’ _ without her presence. And Tyrian moved back across from Nora. Between Nahara and now ‘Millie’. 

“You have cool friends” Nora admitted. 

“I don’t know how or  _ why _ they put up with a creature like me.” She agreed, but only with the words, not the  _ way  _ he’d said them, happy and full of….inside jokes or something. His grin was wide, and he seemed so…. _ different.  _ Then again, he wasn’t attacking her this time. And he’d stolen health, whatever that did to him. Apparently made him good at pretending he wasn’t a ticking bomb about to go off. Even now she couldn’t fathom why anyone would willingly spend time with the monster. She averted her eyes from him and to her food, missing the way his face fell slightly at the action. Hilda noticed his face and shrugged. Based on what she’d learned today Nora was horribly soft and cared more about the small details than the big picture. ‘Is Ren alive, was he going to be okay?’ She hadn’t once asked about howTyr had flown over-and of course he flew, he hated walking all the way back home. Even though if Nora had an _ iota _ of common sense she’d be trying to fly a Grimm and return with an army to demand back her friends. Nope, small picture Nora didn’t see the same way Tyrian did, and even  _ Hilda  _ couldn’t pinpoint the exact thoughts going on in his head. 

“So, Nora, was it?” Nora startled at being addressed by Jorge. “I know everything there  **_is_ ** to know about Hildy.” The woman in question gave a sharp bark of laughter, but didn’t otherwise refute the claim. “And I’ve heard enough about Tyrian from her and the girls” She instantly liked this guy a bit more because his half smile faded a bit at Tyrian’s name. FINALLY Someone  _ else  _ knew the guy was nuts. “Tell me about  _ you _ Vale girl.”

“Oh, um….I wasn’t born in Vale.” And now she has the full,  _ creepy  _ attention of everyone. She took a sip of bitter tea and winced. 

“Tyrian” And the man looked at Hilda. “Go get one of the Honey Sticks you call yourself hiding as if I don’t know the contents of my own home.” He flushed in shame, but obeyed, going to fetch the requested item he vanished into the back of the house for a moment. Nora was nice enough to wait until he was back to continue. But it was less being  _ nice _ and more, she didn’t want him to corner her and demand the story while she was alone. It didn’t even take long for the murderous psychopath to come back holding a long light amber stirring stick. 

“I haven’t been  _ that  _ bad Nana” He protested. “My boyfriend makes sure I don’t eat too much sugar whenever I’m with him. I just  _ indulged  _ due to a surprise visit home” Hilda rolled her eyes as Tyrian carefully put the stick in Nora’s tea.  _ Nora _ meanwhile was more horrified at the notion that Tyrian had a boyfriend. Who wanted to spend  _ any  _ time with that! 

“Hand over the other one.” Tyrian flinched and his face fell but he reluctantly handed over the other stick of honey. “Too much sugar will make you compliant, complacent, and  **_weak._ ** ” She snarled as she snatched it out of his hand. “Bad enough that you infected the butter and ate an apple.” Tyrian wasn’t the  _ only  _ one frowning now, but Jorge was the one to make a case. 

“Hilda!” And she crossed her arms, back straight. “Sugar’s not the worst weakness. And if it is, I’ll see it when the boy fights. Weaknesses should be avoided, yes, but better learn how to fight through them. Not  **_everything_ ** is a straight line you HARDHEAD.” Then he smirked at her. “I seem to recall someone with  **_forbidden_ ** emotions being one hell of a fighter.” She chuckled back at him.

“I seem to recall a  _ few _ ” He gave a sharp bark of laughter

“Only with you. That just means you’re a bad influence.” Hilda and Jorge were staring at each other across the table. Nora looked between them  _ staring at each other _ and to Tyrian of all people. While not  _ as _ confused as she was, he seemed a bit concerned. So the two of them were in the same boat. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing if it were the ‘are they together’ boat or the ‘CRAZY PERSON’ boat since sharing a boat with Tyrian wasn’t the best news. 

“Why” Tyrian started, scuttling to sit... _ perch _ back on his chair. “Didn’t you tell me you were a Valkyrie before? I could have picked you up from Anima! And Vale, if you weren't born there where’d you come from?” Nora shuddered. It was due to Qrow he hadn’t picked them  _ off _ in Anima. She just had to trust that as an adult he’d be fine in ‘Temporary Housing’. When he was let out she’d talk to him and make sure he was alright. 

“Well I went to Vale and told everyone my name. That’s what my instructions were.” Nora shrugged. “But I was born….” She stopped, trying to think. “ _ Maybe _ Mantle? I spent some time there as a kid. Until I was like seven. My parents were there…” Hilda and Jorge exchanged a look. “I….I don’t know why. But my mom went there. She said we had family there or something….but….but we didn’t.” Nora looked down, holding back the tears. Mantle was probably one of the better times in her life. “Did you know that it was only recent? The Mantle reunification laws.”By the confused looks around the table, they didn’t. “They’re only like five years old. Atlas huntsmen get Mantle assignments now.” A shrug. “Back then they were separate. And Mantle Huntsmen were given housing but...no actual money. There wasn’t any wealth in Mantle….still isn’t. A Huntsman you get housing, a room per huntsman. So we had a little house. Two bedrooms. You had to work for the SDC to make enough for food. So...we were starving. Mom had standards.” The air felt like a heavy blanket had been draped over them. Hilda looked offended, Jorge looked like he was going to  _ MURDER  _ someone. It wasn’t new information to Tyrian and with the new awkwardness Nora took a slug of tea, pleasantly surprised to find that the honey stick had melted into it, sweetening it and making it wonderful rather than bitter. She’d get her teeth ripped out before admitting Tyrian might have had good taste. 

“That doesn’t make sense” Hilda growled. “Helga said that she left all of the money to  _ my _ children since she didn’t have any.”

“I thought Helga was your daughter’s name?” Nora asked, confused. 

“Helga the Second, we chopped off the last part. It was implied. She was named for her late aunt.” Nora blinked with that realization. “Well, not late when she was named. Helga the first held her, watched her while I was at war. But  _ still _ . Your parents should have had enough money. Unless Sara went to Mantle, claimed it and went  _ back _ to Vale?” 

“Did they ever check the war records from Mantle?” 

“There were none.” Jorge  _ and  _ Hilda looked like they wanted to fight now. “All information regarding the Great War was confiscated by Atlas. All the records were up in the Atlas computer systems. And back before the unification it was almost  _ impossible  _ to afford a day pass to Atlas.”

“So your parents were  _ starving _ while fighting Grimm?” Nora shrugged, looking deeply into her tea. That was the long and short of it. They’d been so hungry and dizzy and malnourished...when the Grimm got through the  _ useless  _ wall her dad had sprinted to fight, stumbling out of Huntsman Housing in a daze. Her mom knew. The  _ haunted _ look in the woman’s face as she held her for the last time. As she ran through the icy tundra of Solitas and unlocked the child’s aura so that she could run as well. The poem and the too big coat and the huge hammer and the  _ worry stone  _ clutched in her hands. “I am  _ so  _ Glad for my orders.” Tyrian spoke again, shocking Nora out of her memories. “The Goddess wants me to  _ destroy  _ the faith in Atlas. To CRUSH it slowly and choke out any form of hope till its leaders panic and play right into her hands.” Wait  _ WHAT!  _

“GOOD FOR THEM!” Hilda was FURIOUS on behalf of the Granddaughter she’d never known. “TYRIAN I WANT YOU TO TEAR THEM APART! Any Mercy in your heart, GET  **_RID_ ** OF IT! Avenge NORA’S MOTHER BRIGGETTE!” 

“I’ll crack their General’s Head like an egg and bring you his brains to poach Nana.” Tyrian promised. It soothed the volatile woman just a little. Nora  _ could _ protest here. It would be a great time too, Tyrian seemed to listen to Hilda. And it had stopped hurting until she’d had to recount...recall... It had happened so long ago that the stabbing panic had subsided into an endless grief and then a numb ache in the back of her throat until she was  _ on  _ Atlas. She couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t mad seeing how Mantle lives were tossed away. She opened her mouth to defend harming General Ironwood, when his voice rang out in her mind. ‘ _ A few city blocks’ _ That had been her  _ home… _ Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took a sip of tea.. 

“Then I ran until someone saw me. I traded mom’s coat and hammer for a ship to Argus.” She continued her story. Tyrian had said he’d be back in a month, let the general sweat out till then. He could take it. “I was trying for Vale but I didn’t know where I was headed so I ran through Anima like a crazy woman”


	12. A dangerous night till Morning's light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.....there was no chapter last week. It was actually quite Ironic that it fell on April fools day lolz. Um.....what really happened was depressive swings. And lil voices whispering that no one was reading or cared or that my writing was wrong and I should have moved on and pacing and.......BUNCHA SHIT. It was actually one nice commenter wondering where I was that got my butt back in gear. ....... unfortunately, I've got a 2 year old sis running circles around me, but I'm gonna try to get my writing back in order and toss out chapters like I'd promised you lovely folks. Please pardon the temporary lapse of sanity due to the flare up of 'If no one is giving me attention they don't care' disease I suffer from lolz.

Ren lay perfectly still in the bed. Apparently while the radios couldn’t turn off they started playing white noise at a certain time. Lovely.The radios weren’t playing anything, Kida had bade him goodbye until the morning as she’d made his salad first and then gone to finish and deliver dinner to everyone else. He didn’t feel like rereading the pamphlets and the books that were  _ oversized  _ pamphlets yet again, a lot of books told him to check the archives for more information, before feeding him the same basic laws and reminding him where various things could be retrieved from.. But he couldn’t exactly  _ get  _ to the archives now could he? He was stuck here. Even without the poisoned food being stuck here for weeks on end could make you so mind numbingly bored you would be willing to agree to any crazy idea you were presented with just so that you could get out of here. 

“Trust the Goddess” Ren’s eyes snapped open. He looked sideways at his half eaten salad. After what he’d seen with the chicken and the fact that Kida was  _ annoyingly _ kind, he just ate slowly while reading. That way he didn’t need to worry about the overly nice woman watching him. He wasn’t worried. Her actions indicated she was wondering if he liked the food, her shoulders always released some tension when he complimented it. She wasn’t used to making vegetarian dishes it seemed. That, and she seemed to like him...his  _ company _ . She’d apparently used up a favor to shortlist him for Lady Song. Only time would tell if it worked or not. He was actually a bit concerned about what she must have done. Their conversation over half of dinner hinted that she hadn’t even spoken to the other woman. How to get a favor without getting a favor? “You are  **_safe_ ** in Crucible” There it was again! A female voice. More worrying, that wasn’t  _ Kida’s  _ voice. Nor was it Mother’s. If it wasn’t for Jaune being called Caspien and the statue of Tyrian, he’d have started to wonder if it was some sort of women’s only commune. He hadn’t seen any gentleman and Mother seemed to  _ hate  _ Tyrian, which was odd due to the fact that the statue implied he was somewhat important. 

“The Grimm ain’t dangerous.” Ren blinked again. That was  _ another  _ female voice. Young, rough and angry sounding. He got up to walk over and listen better. The radio was giving off a gentle white noise in between the statements. Clever. The White Noise kept you on the deeper stages of sleep so that the phrases could infiltrate your subconscious. No wonder Kida kept people for two weeks. He’d been warned so he didn’t eat the poison, but there was no telling what it did. Even without it, listening to that for hours at a time would cause you to have a gentle brain massage, especially if you weren't aware of it. He was pretty sure there were no cameras in here. After all, Kida hadn’t commented on how long it had taken him to eat the fruit salad. He opened up his jacket. Hopefully, whatever poison they were using was less potent than Tyrian’s. His heart went out to Qrow for surviving that madness almost a full week. Tyrian’s poison caused enough pain that it would be all too easy to fall into a voice telling you that it would be better once you sank down into sleep. Even though he’d had enough aura to keep on fighting for a bit, the poison wasn’t good for it. He’d been able to fight through searing pain on pure adrenaline alone but the kick had woken up the actual  _ brain _ part of his brain. While he was down and thinking, he’d dropped his scroll in the snow. While Nora held him he told her, but he wasn’t sure if the information got through to her. He may have only thought he told her…. When Hilda had told him to give up his weapons the mostly decorative knife had been transferred to that scroll pocket. “Fuckin calm down, you’re happy here.” He rolled his eyes. She would have been more jarring if her voice wasn’t a half monotone of pure boredom. Hmmmm. Welp, the knife had been kept for self defense, rusted and old as it was. Still...it could cut. Ren went over to the perfectly made bed. He’d been laying on top of it, but now he flipped the blanket off and unhooked the sheet. There were no rafters to hang himself so it made sense that the sheets could come off even though they didn’t want anyone dead. He flipped up the mattress so that he could work on the back of it, something Kida likely wouldn’t notice until she flipped them. Still,  _ careful _ . He made a small and hopefully inconspicuous slash in the mattress, prying some of the cotton from it’s holding in order to shove it into his ears.He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, but some of that nonsense might infiltrate his meditation. He put the mattress back to rights and went back to meditating, conserving his energy so that he’d be able to fool Kida into thinking he’d slept through the night. He tossed the blanket over his head so that he had a warning to remove his makeshift earplugs before she saw them as he wouldn’t be able to hear the door. 

* * *

Okay. When Hilda had mentioned that Tyrian was playing with his food, she’d first thought it was typical bragging about your family. Now she wasn’t so sure. Though she didn’t seem to  _ like _ sugar, she knew how to keep her grandson occupied. Hilda had put out a chocolate cake to go set up an exhibition for Jorge’s benefit. Nora hadn’t understood what that meant an hour ago. 

Tyrian wasn’t even  _ sweating.  _ Though he was at least breathing hard. There was a truly  _ staggering  _ amount of gravity dust on him, tied to his arms, legs, thighs, chest and  _ tail.  _ Still, when Hilda pulled the rope and sent dust projectiles at him he was able to dodge accurately. And what’s worse, Dust was the  _ third  _ set of projectiles. First arrows, then arrows while blindfolded, now  _ dust while blindfolded. _ Nora couldn’t help the way her heart leapt up to her throat as he jerked out of the way, lightning dust  _ barely _ missing his chest as he balanced on his tail and used it to rotate himself. He’d just gotten back on his feet before he had to whip it to stop the fire projectile from hitting him. His arm shot back and  _ around  _ the tail to shoot at the…..well, it looked like a modified pitching machine. He was surrounded by ten of them, the ‘viewing area’ on the roof. Hilda had loaded each of them with a random assortment of dust. The last times the order had been ‘don’t get killed’ but about four minutes ago Hilda had changed it to ‘massacre’ so it was no surprise when Tyrian growled and  _ LAUNCHED HIMSELF  _ directly at the machine that had just fired at him, savagely ripping into it before using the wheels to roll it into the middle of the fray. He cackled as he rode in on it, listening intently to it being destroyed before he leapt away to rip apart another machine. 

She felt both way better about the fight and  _ way more terrified  _ of Tyrian. No wonder he tended to win, even ‘playing’ as he was. Hilda hadn’t been kidding when she’d called him a killing machine. Ten minutes after the ‘massacre’ order the poor machines were nothing more than sparking scrap metal. And he’d spent four of those minutes dogging in a way that Nora realized was re-familiarizing himself with exactly where the machines all were so that he could most efficiently rip them apart. JNR attacking him was like trying to stop a  _ tank  _ with a slingshot. While it was  _ possible  _ it was horribly improbable and you were WAY better off betting against the slingshot like a sane person.

“Sloppy” Hilda chided, though there was an amused smile pulling at her lips that Tyrian couldn’t see. His entire body slumped in disappointment at what he perceived as a genuine critique. Jorge chuckled.

“Hilda you hurt his feelings.” That caused her to let out a full belly laugh. 

“What did I say about sloppy Tyrian?” He flinched on the ground, biting his lip as he tried to remember. 

“It’ll get you killed?” She raised an eyebrow and waited for the other shoe to drop in his mind. It took about a minute before the man started hopping in place like a hyperactive puppy seeing their favorite toy. “THERE’S A PATTERN TO PERFECTION! Sloppy is unpredicatble and if you keep your head about you, you can murder them while they try to anticipate you!” 

“RIGHT!” He grinned widely at her praise. “Fight dirtier next time. They’ll never expect  _ that!”  _ Hilda shook her head. “Clear the battlefield, wash up and get to bed.”  __

“Yes Nana!” He chirped, taking off his blindfold and taking off the dust clothing to clean up the mess he’d made. Huh, bed. Apparently ‘Millie’ was right about him not leaving tonight. Nora couldn’t help the snicker as she followed Hilda inside. Wait BED!

“Um…..miss Hilda?” Jorge snickered at the formality, sliding into step behind Nora and keeping her from doing something stupid, like sprinting away off a  _ roof. _

“Call me Nana-or great grandmother if you want to leave ‘Nana’ for Tyrian. Don’t worry, Tyrian doesn’t take long baths, the bucket will be open for you soon enough. Unless you want the first go.”

“Bucket?” WAIT NO,  **_FOCUS_ ** . “I mean, what do you mean bed? Where’s Ren and Jaune? Can I see them? What time is it even? You never showed me where Temporary Housing was.” Any and everything to stop her from having to sleep in the same area Tyrian could slaughter her with ease. She was so busy panicking that she missed the look Hilda and Jorge gave each other over her head. 

“You’ll see Caspien tomorrow. Worship is mandatory. The Dusters leave late and come back even later to make sure they don’t miss it. Don’t worry. We’ll figure out where he is and pull him out of whatever mess he’s gotten himself into without me.” There was a large explosion outside the house, but Hilda was unphased. “One of them broke. It’ll take him some more time to fix that. First in the bath then. It’s the same principle as cooking ” As she spoke she guided Nora by the shoulder. And led her to a room with a big wooden bucket and more dust crystals. What was it about this woman that made her automatically obey. 

“Hilda” Jorge was still outside the door. “You’re steamrolling again.” Hilda pouted and moved to the side, allowing Nora to get out of the bathroom and under Jorge’s arm. “Common.” He let her to a decently sized room with a freshly made bed and the burlap sack from earlier on it. “Are you alright?” Nora blinked. Alright? 

“I….” She stopped. Today had been CRAZY and even when it slowed down she was still confused, and worried and dragging back painful memories and terrified of Tyrian and….and….She choked back the sob, teal eyes wide. Distractions didn’t equal okay, but she’d been rushed through since meeting Hilda, not allowed to really process. Jorge just hugged her tightly and rubbed her back as she cried. “OH GOD! I’m sitting here  _ eating _ . Ren might be hurt. She told him to go to Temporary housing and gave him hints but Jaune! Jaune might be  **_DEAD_ ** and I’m here EATING! And I thought I was alone. I have a….but  _ TYRIAN” _ and the way she said his name, like her mouth was full of a poison that was so cloying she couldn’t open her lips to get it out. “I  _ can’t  _ be related to him. He’s a  **_MONSTER_ ** and this place-what is it! I’ve been looking my whole life for it but…..but FUCK” and he held her more tightly. He’d seen it during dinner, the mechanical way she ate, she was distracted and lost in her worries, or she was a robot. Dealing with things and unable to. 

“Shhhhhhuuuuusssshhhhh” He rocked her. “I get it. This place is….a  _ lot  _ to take in. That being said, I’ve been here a week and no one Hilda protects is killed. According to Nahara they try  _ very  _ hard not to kill anyone. Now, Hilda is important. She can get  _ anything _ she wants if she asks for it. She doesn’t particularly  _ care  _ about your friends.” Another choked sob. “That being said,” He continued. “She cares about very little. The fact that she fed you and gave your friend hints is evidence of the fact that she’ll put her neck on the line for them. Provided they don’t do anything  **_stupid_ ** they’re safe. Trust them to be safe until you can get to them. She cares for family more than anything, and I’ll bet that extends to Tyrian as well. So they won’t do anything that will hurt you. That means not doing anything to hurt your friends.” She was still sniffling as she clung to him. 

“Sorry. I just.”

“You miss your friends” She nodded. “And you’re worried” a  _ harsher _ nod. “And Hilda has a wonderful habit of bulldozing past emotion in her efforts for efficiency.” He chuckled. “You should have seen her in the war. She’s got a compulsion semblance. Used to use it on the half dead, make them march on broken bones until they finally bled out, and even then-corpses marching through for supply runs.” He shook his head. “It was always amazing to see how confident she was, and even when she wasn’t using it she made you  _ want  _ to follow her. But…” And he brushed her hair back “It’s a bit disconcerting to be on the other side of it. I’ll try to curb her. And don’t worry. I’ll keep her crazy to a minimum.” He chuckled. “It’s dangerous if you don’t know how to handle it.” With that he tucked Nora into the bed and closed the door behind him. For a moment she listened intently. Jorge was talking to Hilda, something about a shower in the morning. Crying had utterly exhausted her, and her energy hadn’t had time to recover from walking all day, fighting all day, fighting Tyrian, and the constant adrenaline drain since then. The bed was hard, but she’d slept on worse. She was out of it before she even processed that she was falling.

* * *

“You’ll wanna wear your new clothes to Worship.” Andy said that morning as they finished up a spicy 3 bean chili. It turned out the guy was vegetarian. Jaune had never before had a stuffed Artichoke but it was just as delicious as the soup had been. And Andy had a spare room for him to stay in. a few spare rooms actually. He was ‘favored’ and held a title so he was  _ allowed _ to live right off of Town Square in a place called Eastern Housing but didn’t due to proximity to Mother. That was...fair honestly considering how crazy she was. So they were up in  _ Northern _ Housing. Which was right near the gardens….if you actually knew how to navigate the winding system of caverns. 

“Will she murder me if I wear my old outfit?” Asked Jaune, who was currently wearing a shirt of Andy’s and some underwear that he’d been given back at Millie’s. 

“Yup” And he DID NOT doubt it. “She makes everyone at least  _ one _ really nice outfit and she likes seeing it when you go to worship.” He shrugged. “Worship itself outta jog your memory a lil bit. Did the books help?” With the rules, yes. With memories he knew for a fact he didn’t have?  _ Surprisingly  _ not. 

“Nothing. Too much time out in the taint I guess.” And he shrugged. Andy reached over to clasp a hand to his shoulder. Jaune had figured out through the night that Andy was touchy and flirty, but nothing more. In fact, he didn’t seem to  _ realize  _ that he was touchy and flirty. Jaune noted it in the back of his head and resigned himself to the fact that a  _ lot _ of people were gonna be touching him. Ah well, the little boundaries his  _ family _ had left him had been beaten down by Nora. This place would probably blow them up. Everyone he spoke to was that same brand of overly friendly. Andy was telling the truth, personal boundaries didn’t exist.

“I think I’ll need your help to get dressed. The straps are-”

“Weird, I saw.” Andy chuckled. “I don’t think Millie’s ever made  _ anything  _ you can get in by yourself. You should see  _ my  _ church outfit. I only wear it like once a month. Then again, it’s not that often I even wear  _ shirts _ so.” Jaune blinked at empty space a few times, eyes not processing as he tried to decide if the other man was joking or not. Andy shrugged. “Comeon, let’s get you dressed. We have to get to the temple and set things up for worship. That….yeah, that’s my  _ whole _ job” 

“I thought your job was re-reading all the old shipping manifestos?” Andy winced. 

“Kinda? Yes and no. I’m supposed to read all of them, transcribe them on thicker paper, and condense some of it but most important and so, the only thing I actually do, is make sure the Church is kept clean. Even then, there’s a bunch of people to  _ actually _ clean, I just tell em what’s dirty and where.” 

“So….wait, if you don’t do your job what do you do?” It seemed like everyone here  _ had _ a job. Very few people were out when Tyrian had….for lack of a better word  _ dropped them off _ . With the rough swarm later it seemed like most people probably spent most of their time working, possibly in the-what looked like  _ sweatshop _ that Lady Song managed. 

“I mean, You have jobs and official jobs and  _ titles.  _ You can really pick which one to do. I mean, my title’s Entertainment so a lot of the time I run around making an amusing distraction of myself.” He shrugged. “I’m used to being a distraction. I love doing that actually.” He shrugged. Jaune scoffed. He’d understood the concept yesterday night when the man had managed to artfully redirect the conversation from his past everytime Jaune asked about it. Instead talking about random things to try and jog his memories. Jaune considered himself a  _ decent  _ judge of character and Andy was harmless.  _ Weird _ and too friendly, but really harmless. “I’d probably know what your recorded title was if I bothered to read through the census info like I’m supposed to.” He shrugged. “Hopefully you get something good.” Andy shrugged, grabbing the outfit. “Now let’s get you outta those clothes!” Jaune sighed. Hopefully better phrasing existed  _ somewhere  _ in this place. It just wouldn’t be found  _ here.  _ “Common. Gotta go. Hope you don’t mind helping me with a little….personal project” And  _ that _ didn’t sound suspicious at all.  
  
  


* * *

Nora was  _ incredibly  _ grateful to Jorge. Even though he probably wanted to walk next to Hilda, he’d maneuvered Nora right in between them, leaving Tyrian to walk on the other side of his Nana….a person in between them. She’d much rather hear them reminisce about the Great War (They fought side by side  _ eighty years ago _ these two were dinos) then be closer to the highly unstable man that had dragged her here. Though you almost wouldn’t know it was him, hair in a low and loose braid today and in a dark brown suit that….yeah, clashed with his silver tail.

“MILLIE!!!!” Speaking of the monster, he called over the woman from last night as he saw her. Millie walked over, dress slightly different today, but the same silhouette. And silver accents today. She was snarling even as she walked over, hairpins in hand. Tyrian was apparently ready and expecting that, for he handed her a hairbrush. “Millie you did a great job! Nora looks fantastic.” Millie scoffed. 

“Of course she does,  _ I  _ did it.” Nora had to agree. The dress wasn’t her preferred cut, but it was pretty. What she’d thought was grey was a dark blue that shifted in ever changing hues as she moved, tea length and clinging lightly. There was a slit on one side, stopped by the belt, a wide ivory thing with soft pink embroidery. The belt matched the bubble sleeves and the wrist length gloves. She’d even been given a selection of ivory and pink pumps to match it and her hair was pinned back slightly. Tyrian had woken up before anyone to go fetch food and had nearly burned everyone alive trying to cook so the morning had been spent dealing with that and then a series of bells had rung, only faintly heard before they started getting her ready. “Hmmm.” Millie mused. “The colors are a bit  _ off  _ but I did the best I could with  _ worthless  _ information.” She shook her head. 

“BRENDON!” Nora couldn’t help the slight flinch when Hilda barked so close to her. A young man in…...cogs? Yeah, those were clock cogs and he was covered in them. What the heck? Before she could open her mouth to ask about it Hilda was speaking again. “You know where everything Kida so much as  _ glances  _ at winds up. You keep records. Bring me Caspien would you.” Brendon flushed then. 

“Shhhhuuusssshhhh. Don’t say his name too loud. I’m hoping Mother forgets.” Hilda raised her eyebrow. Nora paid full attention then. Caspien was Jaune and…. “I might have…. _ sorta _ misplaced him.” And there it was. Nora felt her eyes fill with tears. Jaune was supposed to be even better taken care of then Ren so how

“How the FUCK!” And the  _ man _ flinched. “DID YOU LOSE A FULL GROWN MAN! WHERE THE HELL IS CASPIEN!” He lifted his hands in surrender. 

“He’s FINE…..probably….I just kinda can’t…...sorta….he got away from me he”

“ _ HE _ ”And Kida was suddenly there, choppy fluffy hair in a low ponytail and glaring daggers at a suddenly sheepish Brendon. “Was supposed to be  **_WATCHING_ ** him. But don’t worry Hilda. Worship is  _ Mandatory.  _ If he’s still here, then he’ll pop up here. And Nahara hasn’t reported any runaways so it’s safe to assume he’s still here. Maybe  _ lost  _ or something.” And there it was. ‘Lost’ the thing you said when someone was dead and you didn’t want to admit it. ‘Lost’ like most of the friends she’s made in her life. Now Jaune too,  _ lost _ . 

“He’s with Andy” Everyone looked over at Millie. Tyrian was slumped over so that the much shorter woman could play in his hair, and she was in the process of giving him a series of side braids, pinning his hair with silver ornaments so that his tail matched a bit more. She’d also switched his hoops for purple studs. 

“Wait  **_WHAT!_ ** Not  _ ANDY  _ he wouldn’t tell us where he’s hiding him either.” 

“He’ll Tell me,” Tyrian said, from his slumped position. “Nana” And Hilda raised an eyebrow for him, to continue. “Do you mind going to Mother and switching who speaks today? I apparently have an announcement to make. I wanted to talk anyway.” Hilda humphed. 

“You know they like you speaking when you’re here. I’ll go find the bother.” And with that, she turned and stalked off into the forming crowd. Kida and Brendon exchanged a look, then scurried off after Hilda. 


	13. Talk by Tyrian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed, I changed it from Wednesday to Weekly. This is because I had NATURALLY assumed that ya know, remote everything I'd have more time to write. I forgot to account for INCREASED SCHOOLWORK from my teachers and my mom going CRAZY every time she sees me on the computer...also, writer's block and a 2 year old screaming sister messing with my ADHD by being a HUGE visual and auditory distraction. I'll try to get these too you at least once a week.

Nora felt like falling down into a hole. Well,  _ further _ down a hole then she currently was. She wanted to shrink into nothingness itself if it were possible. She didn’t have her hammer on her. No one else having weapons didn’t stop her from desperately wanting her hammer, her  _ team.  _ She had to stand here and pretend she wasn’t about to break all the way down. This was awful. The bacon and eggs from this morning wanted to come back up. The Statue of Salem had been something she’d seen as she’d glanced back while in Tyrian’s tail. It had been spotted when the group had walked into the town square where everyone was milling about. But Nora had been craning her neck looking for the boy that she’d just been informed was  _ missing.  _ She hadn’t realized that everyone was marching to it. Salem’s red eyes glared down at the populace, a cruel smirk on her face as the people were forced to march to her, under her. To something undoubtedly destroyed in the wake of her chaos. She flinched at the flock of Nevermores that suddenly surrounded her. Tyrian’s tail caught her and made sure she didn’t fall as she tried to back up and a few faces turned to her in confusion. 

“Nora calm down. Millie won’t hurt you for a small tear.” She blinked. Was he that…..no, there were chuckles behind her for that. He was hiding her. 

“Don’t lie to her Tyrian.” Millie herself said, “I’d  _ muder  _ her if she hurt my work.” The blonde gave Nora a once over before scoffing. “No tears, be  _ careful _ with that fabric.” She turned and marched ahead of them, head high. Nora had no choice but to be guided by the dangerous tail right through the doors. He was weird and seemed to be nice to her just cause they were ‘related’. The jury was still out on that. Just….just for him. She could have a family, she’d be  _ overjoyed _ to have a family. But….her family couldn’t be  _ that.  _ She shuddered and flinched out of the grip of his tail, almost falling into a dreadlocked man in leather. Millie clicked her tongue and Tyrian pouted and slinked after her with a sidelong look after Nora to make sure that she was alright. 

“Come on” Jorge reappeared like a guardian angel but there was a moment where Nora was more annoyed that he’d vanished in the first place, then noticed that he was armed with Nahara. The blonde gave her a gentle smile and-crap. Her brain was offline again. SHIT! WEAPONIZED HOTNESS!!!

“Hey there Nora.” She winked. “You should sit with us! I call next to you” Well, next to Nahara meant nowhere NEAR Tyrian so….

“Yeah! Okay”

“Oh shit she speaks” Nora’s eyes were dragged from Nahara to Audrey, who was….well to her credit she wasn’t laughing just  _ yet _ . Her face made it clear that she wasn’t going to win that battle for much longer. “Comeon Chicka-We sit near the front.” She jerked her head in a wave and Nora sent a grateful look to the man she’d mistakenly thought had abandoned her.

“Look up” Nahara whispered to her as they walked in. She did and….. _ wow _ . Dust. The ceiling glowed slightly with-should be impossible murals of pure  _ dust _ . It was day outside and they were in the bottom of a hole besides, but the sky above them sparkled with stars. Nora’s mouth dropped open in silent awe as she was gently led to the front of the church. Not just stars, but sparkling galaxies were delicately etched in, dust the color of rainbows had been somehow cared  _ into _ dust that was as dark as night. Rather than the high ceiling making you feel trapped it brought the stars closer, as if you could reach out and touch them, dance amidst them far greater and grander than you were. It was beautiful... 

The illusion of beauty was quickly destroyed as she noticed the walls, Dust Murals again, but this time of  _ Grimm ripping people apart _ .What  _ was _ this place? A justposition of paradise and torture side by side This place was a nightmare designed to be a  _ fantasy _ on the surface. The worst thing was- she could see it working. Had she found this place when she was lost and starving and all alone? Had she found this place with Ren, when she was giving up hope of ever finding anything called family and had managed to drag another poor kid down with her, his family gone now too? It would’ve worked. If they’d have wandered in starving and lost and been given food. Had someone they’d never met claimed to be their last little bit of connection. Had a family and home offered to them on a plate. Had  _ food _ . Nora’s breath quickened. What if she’d never known who Salem was, who  _ Tyrian _ was. What if some madman heard her name and threatened her to bring her someplace where the Grimm didn’t attack and claimed he was family and the food was really good and it was hidden and almost felt safe…..she almost felt  _ safe.  _ Oh FUCK! She liked it here so far in this pretty place, had she not known who Salem was then she’d have been taken in just like everyone else here. How many people had Tyrian kidnapped? How many of them were waiting with baited breath for the chance to get out of here? How many people had been threatened and kidnapped, ripped from their friends and family? …..How many people had been stolen from such nothing that this level of helplessness was their only hope? The edges of her vision were starting to blur. That was bad. They blurred and blurred until there was nothing left and she was…..Ren….Ren was able to stop it but now he was...  
  
  


“NORA!” She blinked, snapping back to reality as she caught sight of a friendly face. It looked like the corner in the first pew had been modified for the large Faunus to comfortably rest on her own coils. “Would you like to sit near me?” And that made it both so much better and so much worse at the same time. Because there were people that were genuinely happy here. That  _ needed _ someplace like this. Nora thought about everything going on and made a safe little cocoon for herself. She sat right behind Avalon. She’d seemed nice, and as expected Nahara, Audrey and Jorge sat right next to her. She didn’t know who would sit behind her but hopefully it would be okay. This was…  _ weirdly  _ okay. She took a deep breath….then her luck changed from good to horrible with the woman that arrived. 

“Dearest Blessing Avalon” And respectful nods were exchanged. She tensed as her head tilted. “Do I  _ know _ you?” Nora froze. It was the woman from yesterday, the one that had attacked Qrow just for defending her. ...The one that took Ren. ‘Mother’ Nora’s mouth opened but sound wouldn’t come out and the green-gold eyes were narrowing in suspicion. She had to pretend to already be here to get away from this lady, and even though Ren was in Temporary Housing as well, there was no guarantee she’d see him if she was taken. 

“Mother this is my friend Nora.” And the, apparently very forgetful woman shifted her attention to the Faunus. “Oh she’s absolutely wonderful! A sweetheart. I meant to ask you if she can work in the gardens by me. At least until Sam gets fixed up. He’s a bit scared to go to Temporary, silly dear.” 

“You mean  _ Foolish _ Dear Blessing Avalon.” Mother said, adjusting her skirts as so to not wrinkle them as she sat. “You are always too kind.” She looked up in thought. “I have no idea where you work or live. Remind me?” It took Avalon shooting her a look over her shoulder for Nora to realize that the question was for her. 

“Um….Hilda?” Shit, she shoulda said Barracks. 

“You are a Hilda? I was unaware we  _ had  _ any other Hildas than  **_the_ ** Hilda and the new Hilda Jorge.”

“ _ Please don’t call me Hilda”  _ The long suffering in Jorge’s voice indicated that it had been a while of him asking that, and Hilda’s statement from before seemed to indicate that he’d waste his breath saying it many more times. “But I keep telling you there needs to be more defence around here. The Grimm are invading.”

“The Grimm are our friends” She said, more calm than Nora thought her capable of. Actually, she seemed entirely different than before. Her voice was dark and measured, it lacked any warmth but you could almost  _ feel  _ her contemplating the words as she said them. Where was the dangerous angry woman from yesterday? This one seemed distant and spoke like a robot that was booting up. Not Penny, Penny was wonderful, but like if Penny was made for the Schnee family maybe. “Have you been attempting to attack them Hilda Jorge?” He gave a great sigh and rolled his eyes, but also shook his head. That’s right, Audrey and Nahara had said that they stopped him. 

“I still think you need more walls.” He grumbled. She hummed. 

“Your request has been taken into account.” Both he and Nora frowned at that. It was the  _ nicer _ way of saying ‘absolutely not’ and everyone knew it, including Avalon, Nahara and Audrey, who all snickered. 

“Speaking of requests,” He continued, “Hilda requested Tyrian speak since he was still here” She nodded, but didn’t speak. “I’m told he’s a good speaker.” To that she scoffed

“The request was filled as soon as it was asked. It’s  _ Tyrian _ . Every rule in the book is bent or broken for The Errand Boy.” She sounded irritated, tired too. Granted, Tyrian was a guarantee to make anyone exhausted. It was  _ Tyrian.  _ “So yes, the Errand boy shall speak. However Li is still the other speaker for today. I offered to let Hilda sing if she did not speak, but she rejected the offer. In such a case, the pattern for today is Tyrian, Brendon, Li. Brendon will only be singing one song.” 

“Mother, he ain’t ask alla that.” Audrey chimed in. Mother blinked twice, slowly, then nodded. 

“No….I suppose he did not.” She looked into the middle distance, almost as if she were confused about something. Weird. She was a weird lady. But weird and detached and calm was better than attacking people she cared about. “I see no reason The Hilda Nora cannot join Planter Dear Blessing Avalon. At least until Planter Sam has been added back to rotation. I will ask Kida when I see her for the time frame of that.” Avlon gave Mother a beaming smile, then turned her upper body to give Nora a ‘thumbs up’ signal. As she did another set of bells rang out. Nora was instantly confused. Did that mean that Kida ran around healing  _ everyone _ ? That sounded exhausting. At the second ringing it was like a surge. The huge space was filled almost instantly, everyone surging in and settling down, the conversation was near defaning, people exchanging pleasantries before….whatever was happening. She’d been told it was worship, but not what that entailed. She’d also been told not to ask any questions around ‘Mother’. Speaking of which, Mother tensed, looking like she did before she struck at Qrow, but all that had happened was that a  _ stunning _ man sat down beside her. The ruffled cravat was  _ definitely  _ the same time period as Mother’s corset, but where all of her clothes were a harsh black and red, the man’s clothes were soft white and even  _ softer  _ pink. He turned golden eyes to her and looked her up and down. 

“Well hello there sweet one. You’re  _ new _ .” He gave her a soft smile. “I am the Father of this place. There’s no need to worry about-”

“Hello Father” Jorge’s voice was as warm as the tundra of Solitas as he cut the man off. “I see you met **_my_** Great Granddaughter.” 

“Oh?” The man asked, golden eyes lingering on Nora for a moment. “I believe there may be some doubts about that” Mother tensed and Nora internally started panicking. Was it written all over her face that she didn’t trust Tyrian and so was _reluctant_ to trust that he was family? Was Mother going to attack, going to lock her away where she’d never see sunlight again.   
  
“HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!” Her panic was derailed by Tyrian’s loud voice ringing out like a shot over the final murmurings of the congregation. His suit had somehow been altered, silver top stitching and a silver tie loosely around his neck. With the new hair and silver accessories he actually somewhat matched. Huh, Millie worked fast. “I know I _know._ Tyrian! You were just here. Tyrian last time you told us to be careful because you’d failed. Tyrian is the wrath of the goddess coming down on us?” And Nora was instantly confused, even though everyone else was watching attentively. She tried to look around to find Jaune, but saw no sign of his adorable artichoke hair anywhere. “I was **_WRONG_** Oh I have _NEVER_ been so glad to be quite so wrong! The goddess in her machinations…….HOW WISE IS THE GODDESS! HOW PRECISE AND METICULOUS! HOW CAREFUL HER EVERY MOVEMENT!” He gave a breathless smile. “I will tell an old story. One that you have heard before...one you may not recall the intricacies of. One that is new, sparkling and shining new pieces that slip and slide and bring such FUN!!! There were so many. So MANY little factors that had to slip and slide and slot **_EXACTLY_** into place in order for so divine and amazing a home such as this to rise for her glory? _To_ her glory. For the glory of the GODDESS!!!”  
“ALL PRAISE HER MIGHT, HER BEAUTY, HER POWER, HER GRACE! PRAISE THE GODDESS OF GRIMM! PRAISE HER DESTRUCTIVE MIGHT! PRAISE HER LIFEGIVING BOUNTY” Nora flinched. Ah, call and response. Looking around she wasn’t the only one that didn’t know what to say. Though most of _them_ were a few rows behind her and further...and looking at _her_ in relief. Well, at least she was doing _some_ good in the second row. 

“Don’t worry” Nora looked up at Avalon, who had turned to smile at her. “I think there’s only about Twenty people that actually know the words. They’re just nice and loud for everyone else.” Avalon chuckled and Nora was scared on her behalf, what with her being so close to Mother. But rather than  _ angry,  _ Mother raised a brow and gently shushed her. She didn’t seem to care which was….odd, to say the least with how caring of protocol yesterday. 

“Who here remembers the War?” Tyrian’s voice was soft, but the congregation was quiet enough to hear it. To be fair, it was a _massive_ shift in tone from his usual wild voice. A few people raised their hands, Nora included. She’d read about the war in school. Rather, Ren had read the information _to_ her in a bid to make her learn….or put her to sleep. It had _succeded_ in sending her to sleep, whatever his intention had been. As he stayed quiet, more hands rose. One by one until almost every hand was raised. Most people knew about the war. A low, dark, sinister sounding chuckle cut through the air. “ _Liars..._ all of you. You _read_ about the war, heard it from someone else. Very few people remember the war. Even I don’t _remember_ the war…..” He grinned then, the smile slitting across his face like a blade across a throat. “ _I know someone that does_ ” The words came out singsong and almost purred.. “So do all of you. The Hilda…. _Brun_ hilda. She lived through it….fought through it. She knows the loss it caused. The _fear_ felt by all. Now, who has experienced loss or fear?” He was waiting expectantly, eagerly eying his audience. This time, they tried to let him wait. Nora thought of how on earth it could be a trick question this time, before she lifted her hand. She wasn’t the only one. One by one, hands lifted, until the entire parish had raised them. Gold eyes flicked over each of them before softening. He used his tail to point. “You” And Nora **_froze._** Why did he single her out? What did he WANT!!! But now there were a people all looking at her, including Mother and Father. Avalon smiled at her and even Nahara gave her a firm squeeze of the hand as she rose from her, already uncomfortable seat. “Tell me about your loss” His voice was gentle, soft….if she didn’t know who or _what_ he was she’d have almost ventured to say ‘kind’.   
“My parents….Grimm” She tried to sit back down, but noticed that every eye was still on her. She bit her lip. Oh….they wanted more…...or Tyrian was trying to _torture_ her. “So….that was my only family…...lost my home….homeless and running, lost my dignity a few times….luckily never as bad as it could’ve been. Then I found a new home…..in the arms of a boy that lost everything to….we went to school...I lost my marbles studying concepts that were WAY out of my pay grade. Lost a few more when I found my semblance. Lost _hope._ That’s why I was playing with lightning dust. Went to a _better_ school and called my team home. Then I….lost that too. Beacon fell. Pyrrha died. Felt like someone cracked open my chest to toy with my heart there. We were lost again. I…. I had _everything_. I climbed up from less than nothing and I don’t even know where Ren and Jaune are! And we were getting back before we were stopped by….” The hatred burned in her heart for the Faunus on the pulpit, but he smiled. 

“Did anyone notice a common thread!?” He asked loudly to the stillness. “Grimm attacks, the fall of Beacon, _Me_ Dear Nora has been facing loss and fear at every turn!” She sat down, feeling numb. She hadn’t wanted to help him but there was a sinking feeling in her stomach that she’d managed to. Avalon passed her a handkerchief which was the only real indication she had to the fact that she was crying. Nora blinked. How had she not noticed her vision blurring up? Someone was rubbing circles into her hand. A glance to the side showed Audrey’s blurry outline reaching over Nahara to hold unto her. “The goddess causes such loss. And WHY!” No one could speak, staring at Tyrian, waiting with baited breath for such an answer. He smirked. “This Glorious place…it was made before the Great War. And great it was. And Great it would stay...for a time.” He looked out at everyone softly. “Who knows who the first settlers of this place were?” Slowly, hands rose. Again, the tail pointed at someone. “Céu, you?”   
“Mantle” The man’s voice rang out. Tyrian nodded, but made a ‘go on’ motion. “They were fleeing from the non expression laws.” Tyrian repeated the gesture, but his smile was strained. Céu paused. Thinking about what the main ideas had been before the question. Grimm “Um…..the…..laws were enacted in an ill fated effort to keep away the grimm?”   
“ _YES_ ” The word escaped in a hiss. “The first settlers of this place were driven by _loss._ The loss of their emotions. Of their Freedom. And such a loss was made by the Grimm sent by the goddess. How many here, are descendants of the first Mantalies? The ones that came from Emotional Loss?” A few hands rose, among them- Millie, recognizable by her stance as she stood in the front row on the opposite side of the church. “You. All of you with hands raised…..you are children of loss. Keep your hands up.” He began pacing as he thought. “What significant event happened here, due to lead up to the great war….” Nahara’s hand was one that shot up, along with almost everyone else's. It was her the tail pointed at.   
“The refugees fleeing war tended to run to kingdoms not on the map. Places they’d only heard through the grapevine, hidden from the four main kingdoms and so not targeted by war. Pacifica was created shortly after the war so not there...unless those were the first settlers, but a lot of people fled to Either here or Enchantra from Mantle or Vale. People from Vacuo looking to give up before the war hit them tried to use this continent as a land bridge to go surrender to Mantle before their homes were destroyed. They found here instead with its rich Dust deposits and a still forming leadership that's only real message was free expression. The Valians that had come here were trying to create a non war society. The Vacuians, when they first arrived-offered knowledge, they knew how to sustainably farm the dust deposits without destroying the minimal progress that was being made.When the refugees worked together there was a self sustaining kingdom within three years with a system of government-three members of council, one from each kingdom all giving ideas to voted in Queen Zahara ...right in time for the war to fully start.” 

“Show off” There was no venom in his voice at all, just gentle affection. “Is that your way of telling me to get to the point?”    
“Of course not.” But she was smiling.    
“Raise your hands, if you’re a descendant of those fleeing from war.” And a few more hands raised, Tyrian’s among them, as well as Father’s. Nora looked, Nahara’s hand didn’t rise. “And who could forget the goddess’ darling Grimm?” Nora’s breath held. “Who was brought here by the Grimm. Snatched away from their lives?” An overwhelming amount of people’s hands shot into the air. Surprisingly, neither Nahara nor Audrey again. Why were  _ they  _ here? Avalon’s hand was down, but Mother had raised her hand a while ago. But Avalon had implied she’d come here of her own free will. “And lastly, who is here due to fear? The fear of the unknown, the fear of the unkind? The fear of what would happen to those you cared for?” Nahara and Nora both raised their hands at that point. Audrey didn’t. “Look around here. Look at everyone here due to loss, of family, of trust, of home. Look around at the fear. Fear of war, fear for who can’t protect. Fear and Loss  **_power_ ** the Grimm. So why then you may wonder, does the goddess produce so much? Why would she be so callous?” He quieted, and the atmosphere in the room was as thick as soup, overwhelming and suffocating. So quiet you could hear a pin drop, so everyone heard his faintly there whisper. “ _ Look around you. _ This Kingdom...is beautiful….is  _ wealthy _ . No one ever goes hungry. Housing and clothing is provided to all. Everyone feels  _ useful  _ because everyone has a job, HAND PICKED for the skills they bring to the table. Everyone. Lower your hands.” And so they did and Tyrian, eyes shining, looked out on the sea of people. “Not  _ deliriously _ so, not an absence of missing what you may have had before, but who here, show of hands….feels content? Useful? Appreciated? As if this may be the kindest place on Remnant? As if this may be the place for  _ you?” _ Nora looked around, not  **_only_ ** could she only see raised hands, a few people were standing on chairs to raise them higher, were starting to clap. Well it’d be  _ impossible  _ to find Jaune in this mess. “THAT! Is why she does what she does” Tyrian continued. “Loss Breeds  **OPPORTUNITY** ! And Fear brings DETERMINATION! Just  _ look _ at what the goddess has allowed us to CREATE here! Is it any wonder, that it is all in honor of her?” He took a moment, before pointing with his tail again. “NORA!” She jumped. “If you had never had the initial loss, if you still lived with you parents safe and happy as they went to fend away Grimm. If you’d stayed with a home? Would you have ever found that boy? Would you have ever conquered school so well? Would you have ever gone to Beacon, or  _ met  _ Pyrrha to lose her too, would you have been able to fight me even half as well as you did? WOULD YOU BE AS STRONG A PERSON TODAY IF NOT FOR THE LOSS OF YOUR PARENTS AND THE FEAR OF A WORLD WITHOUT THEM!” Nora stopped to think about that… she’d been….disillusioned with a lot. With Atlas and how it treated people, with hunters as a whole, she hadn't understood the concept of risking your life to get nothing in return. She’d yelled at her parents whenever they’d come home with new bruises. She….she’d have never  _ known  _ Ren……   
“Loss provides…... _ opportunity”  _ She realized. He…...he was telling the truth. 

“And Fear?” He prompted gently.   
“Fear makes you determined.”She agreed. Tyrian’s smile nearly split his face in two.    
“If it were not but for Loss and Fear, We would have never met for her to lose to me. Well,  _ I  _ would have never been born, but bearing that in mind, I’d have never met Nora. Nor fought her. Nor found through her fear based determination the truth. My mother Helga, daughter of the Hilda-had a  _ sister _ \- Sara. Sara…..happens to be Nora's Grandmother.” A gasp rang out through everyone. “Without her Fear based determination…..without her series of losses. …. I’d have met my  _ niece.”  _ NOW the applause was deafening. Nahara and Audrey actually  _ congratulated  _ her along with some people behind her. Tyrian smiled but saw that it wasn’t going to end anytime soon, and so yelled out- “ALL HAIL THE GODDESS! AS MYSTERIOUS AS SHE IS POWERFUL AND AS POWERFUL AS SHE IS CLEVER!!!!!” The thunderous applause got  _ worse  _ as Tyrian bowed and left the stage. 


	14. Smile and a Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I did NOT forget this story. I'm just an idiot that tried to keep weekly updates while Remote learning (which can kiss my ass) for finals. And THEN my motivation and inspiration both dried up. I was trying to make the first part last a lil longer cause everyone seemed to like it, but it's time to move on so my muse crawls back. Don't worry, this isn't the last you'll see of Crucible. At the same time, we gotta get to PAIRINGS lolz! Hopefully I can get back on track with updates. Everytime I look at the news my soul crumbles a lil bit and I end up in a depressive state so bad I can't leave my bed. I'm trying cause I'm trying to keep active with something for once. Thanks for bearing with me.

Andy was standing giving an ovation, like everyone else in their space. He’d been so overjoyed at Tyrian speaking and Jaune had only started paying attention when the Scorpion had called out Nora’s name. Where  _ was _ she? He had a clear view of the stage and Tyrian bopping around, but he was in a lil box on the  _ side _ of the stage, nestled firmly between Andy and Kida. Kida upon seeing him, had tried to squeeze him between Brendon and herself, while Andy had tried to slot him so that he sat between him and a  **HUGE** Tiger Fanus with striped skin. He didn’t know  _ why _ he had to be in the box. Just that he was stuck here. He’d originally had his hand up, prodded by Kida on if he was a descendant of one of the Valians fleeing war. But Nora was apparently on the  _ far  _ side of the stage. Still, he’d felt ice go up his spine at the declaration that Tyrian was her  _ uncle _ . There had to be some mistake. 

  
  
“Come on _Capsien_.” Her name was Jazz, or something like that. Jazz had been what Andy called her when he ran and jumped on her for the one sided hug. She’d growled, but hadn't thrown him off, which was more telling than even the fact he hugged her in the first place. She seemed as mean as she was _big_ and so he really didn’t want to get on her bad side. She seemed fairly ‘new’. While Brendon and Kida had both raised their hands of being descendants to people, Andy and Jazz had raised their hands to being brought by Grimm. If he was supposed to be a descendant and no one was supposed to ever leave here….well, that spoke for itself on how creepy the place was. Even his sister Saffron had gone to Argus to get away. And his family was close. His Aunt Tawny lived in Vale, but a week’s journey from her in-laws and they all gathered for weddings, funerals, birthdays. It was an almost _practical_ matter of staying away from the people you loved so that you could **_still_** love them. The people seemed okay with not traveling. They also didn’t seem to have too much family. He’d been asking around as he helped Andy set up. A lot of people were weirdly only children or their parents were dead...or both. He didn’t know how much of the records he had to comb through to find out why. What had caused the weird _stop_ in people. A stop that was still going on because while he was setting up he was looking at people and while he wasn’t so stupid as to think they were _all_ there, he hadn’t seen Nora after all, everyone he had seen looked like they were at least twenty…..People were happy but not having kids and no one was family or had grown up together so they were okay with being trapped. There was _something_ insidious here, he just needed a few more pieces of the puzzle to try and “ ** _CASPIEN!_** ” He jumped as Jazz barked at him.   


“Yeah sorry, sorry. Zoned out for a little bit there.” She looked him up and down and there was something about  _ her _ that made the 6’1 male feel 3’8.    


“Well come on. They’re all set up. I don’t see why we  **_need_ ** you. We’ve been doing just fine without a second guitar.” She snarled. All of her speaking seemed to be snarling. Jaune didn’t take it personally, she snarled when she said hi to Andy. 

“Of course we have but we’re trying to jog his  _ memory _ .” Brendon said. “So let him play his old section.”    


“And if he doesn’t remember how to  _ play?”  _ Jazz pointed out. Welp, she was  _ pragmatic _ and scary. That was good at least.    


“Of  _ course _ he remembers!” Kida herself didn’t look all that convinced, but she smiled at him anyway. “Caspien, you know how to play the guitar  _ right _ ?”    


“Yeah” Jaune played a simple scale for a relieved looking Kida and an impressed looking Brendon. He sent out a small thanks to Cousin Carion who had taught him to play  _ forever _ ago. He actually hadn't  _ touched  _ an electric since then. “But…..I  _ don’t _ think I know how to read sheet music.” Because no one knew and he didn’t have the attention to teach himself. Kida and Brendon both chuckled at that. Andy looked actually  _ annoyed _ .   


“There  _ is _ no sheet music in this horrible chaos. Everyone plays by ear cause they all  **_HATE_ ** me.” Jazz snorted at that.    


“I thought I was getting it.” She raised an eyebrow as he smiled gratefully.

“You are, but I’m transposing everything twice for you cause I don’t know how to write for  _ percussion  _ by itself _.  _ I have to  _ hear _ it, separate it, write the drum part as a guitar and  _ then _ translate that into drums.” He sighed. “It’s just a lot of work. But thank you for putting in the effort to learn” She nodded distractedly. 

“Well, it’s a good distraction for the eternally bored,” She said.   


“He’s bored cause he doesn’t do his job and I have to run around doing it  _ plus _ mine and anything extra on top of it” Brendon grumbled. Andy pouted and Jasper stomped into his personal space and  _ growled _ . Brendon jumped back flustered. “Let’s just get on stage. Not you Caspien. You just  _ feel _ the guitar in your hands and try to remember your part okay.” Jaune felt himself getting a migraine. This whole ‘be Caspien’ thing was already tiring...and  _ stupid _ besides and he was going to try and spend as much time as  _ possible _ with Andy. And Jazz for that matter. She was terrifying but at least she didn’t  _ know _ him to say something as stupid as ‘feel your part’. And so he stood with the electric guitar, trying in vain to see over to the other side of the church past the group on stage while he himself stood just off the side of it…..then Brendon started singing and he lost his  _ entire  _ train of thought.    
  
  


_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ Around Remnant her Will persists _

_ Her Grimm are oh so glorious _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ Oh oh oh oh victorious _

_ Oh oh oh oh _ _   
_ _   
  
_

Shit. The Guitar almost slipped from his hands. What the  _ FUCK _ Brendon had the voice of…..of  _ something _ . Some amazing hero of old. Some….some  _ legendary  _ story of destruction and hope and triumph and joy and it was all in a  _ single  _ note and he’d just sang a whole riff and it took Jaune a moment to even realize what he’d  _ sung _ he was in such awe of the voice of the man in of itself. What the  **_FUCK_ ** _!?  _ Okay….he was starting to understand why this place was dangerous between Brendon’s golden honey voice and Tyrian’s weirdly impassioned speech that made sense-and that was terrifying too. Tyrian was making sense. Kida and Andy were playing in unison. Bass Guitar and regular guitar playing the same melody. Sixteen bars, then Jazz started a drum beat that was almost keeping time. And True, when Brendon started singing again it was  _ on _ Jazz’s beat. 

_ Hail to her the one Grimm queen _

_ Saves us from her guillotine _

_ She can be cruel she can be Mean _

_ And she’s kind it is Supreme _

This time Jaune was prepared for the voice, even though with the instrumentation behind it Brendon sounded even  _ bigger _ . It was bad that he liked music, he was stuck thinking of a trumpet to accompany Andy’s guitar which continued the melody he’d been doing. Kida was riffing along with Jazz which also worked. His fingers moved, almost without conscious thought, trying to find what Andy was playing. It was very bad that this was  _ such  _ a good song.

_ It hurts until it stops _

_ He is sent cause she’s the tops _

_ He’s a killing spree in white _

_ He’ll get you if you doubt her might _

_ His touch is oh so po-ison-ous _

_ And nothing like her love  _

_ Cause  _

_ Ya didn’t know you need it _

_ Do you feel it _

_ You must realize _

_ She’s sublime _

Jaune’s eyes widened as he listened to the words. Tyrian….That was talking about _Tyrian_. If you doubted her might then Tyrian would come after you? But how would anyone doubt Salem? No one _knew_ her….He blinked, remembering the Grimm that Kida had gently and respectfully guided out of the way. Come to think of it he’d seen a few earlier. They hadn’t pinged his danger sense. When you went to combat school they trained you to kill them on sight. But he hadn’t _gone_ to combat school. He hadn’t been mercilessly hunting them from a young age. The house he’d grown up in was huge and there were the typical sibling fights that drew curious Grimm nearby. When he was a kid the general rule was to think of something funny and start laughing. The Grimm were only really an issue when they were actively coming at you. So when he’d seen them earlier, docile and seeming to avoid the people he didn’t even _register_ them. It was a _warning._ If you doubted for an instant the Grimm would kill you then Tyrian would….but….who was the warning _for?_   
  


_ Oh ya know the Taint drove ya crazy _

_ You’re safe inside this home of her liberty _

_ Surely after all this time you just cannot deny _

_ It all will be alright _

_ It all will be alright _

_ Her love is no trick _

_ You’re safe if you believe _

_ To Tantied their tragic _

_ Her Grimm they’re here for our safety _

_ Fear abate _

_ You were the mark _

_ You didn’t wind up dead _

_ Fifty words for murder _

_ You dogged every one of them _

_ The Grimm are black and they help us _

_ They’re here to show her love Cause  _

_ Ya didn’t know you need it _

_ Do you feel it _

_ You must realize _

_ She’s sublime _

_ Oh ya know the Taint drove ya crazy _

_ You’re safe inside this home of her liberty _

_ No PAIN no fear you’re here and you just Cannot deny! _

  
  


Why did they keep referencing ‘the taint’. What was it? Brendon had said it earlier. That he couldn’t remember anything because of the taint. What the hell was it? Was it in here? So far the air in here wasn’t anything different. At least, it  _ felt  _ the same. Jaune frowned. He needed a journal to register if he felt funny lately. …… and with  _ that  _ thought accompanying the desperate need to see Nora and confirm with his own eyes that she was safe, he was turning into  _ Ren _ . Maybe there  _ was _ something in the air down here. He needed to figure out who to ask about getting a journal…. And a  _ map.  _ Come to think of it, that was probably how they kept people here as well. No one knew where they were at any given moment, or how to get out. At all. He followed Andy from his home in Northern housing to the church and if someone held a gun to Ren he  _ still  _ wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get back there. 

_ It all will be alright _

_ It all will be alright _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ Around Remnant her Will persists _

_ Her Grimm are oh so glorious _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ Around Remnant her Will persists _

_ Her Grimm are oh so glorious _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ Oh ya know the Taint drove ya crazy _

_ You’re safe inside this home of her liberty _

_ No PAIN no fear you’re here and you just Cannot deny! _

_ It all will be alright _

_ It all will be alright _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

_ Around Remnant her Will persists _

_ Her Grimm are oh so glorious _

_ The Goddess is victorious _

  
  


As Brendon finished singing his  _ obnoxiously catchy _ song Jaune let out a breath he hadn’t known that he was holding, absently fiddling with the electric guitar in his hands as the others got offstage. He was in a predicament. Hanging out with Andy meant less likelihood of murder. After all, Andy didn’t know  _ Caspien _ , wouldn’t be trying to make him say or do anything he should already know. But  _ Brendon  _ was the one near the records that could tell him why this place was the way it was, could tell him why everything was just slightly  _ off _ here. Even if he hadn’t known the truth of Salem, these people weren’t operating on lies. They knew she controlled Grimm, they knew she was  _ dangerous _ . And yet, this whole weird society had built up around adoring her to the point that no one seemed the least bit concerned that they couldn’t leave. There was something he was missing, hidden in the manifestos. He needed to read them better, understand why people had come here in the first place, understand where  _ here _ was. He’d have to comb through every map to try and find a weird sort of  _ hole _ in the middle of a kingdom, they were under one of the kingdoms, they had to be. The kingdoms were the only places…..safe…..from the……. There were Grimm wandering the city. They didn’t bother people. This…..wherever they were  **_wasn’t_ ** in a kingdom. No Huntsmen for the Grimm. Which would also explain why this place didn’t match the  _ architectural  _ style of any of the kingdoms. There was no Atlas precision here, no Mistral woodwork and elongated roofs, no Vale style mouldings. Everything was made of carved stone. But….but that didn’t make sense either, they had stuff that was imported. He’d  _ seen _ the shipping costs. Unless…..they were being re routed through somewhere to make shipping go up…..One of the people Tyrian pointed to had mentioned hidden kingdoms not on maps. How the…... _ where _   


“I  _ told _ you this would work!” Jaune was startled out of his thoughts by the chipper voice and the hand on his arm.    


“What?”

“Oh Caspien your memory’s coming back! You were playing your section. I mean, no one  _ heard _ it since you weren't plugged in but STILL!” Kida’s eyes were nearly  _ shining _ as she put her bass-guitar up.   
  


“Oh…..” But...he hadn’t been trying to play a section or anything. His fingers just started minding their own business while he was trying to focus on something else. He didn’t say anything about it though because he was trying to stay on her good side and right now she was overjoyed and hugging him and dragging him over to the side box again where he was manhandled into sitting down. This time between Brendon and Kida. He frowned as the next man took the stage. 

  
  
Okay, basic knowledge about Kida. She was a  **_LOT_ ** more dangerous than she seemed. He didn’t know what her job was, but she was really pleasant to mask the fact that she was REALLY pushy. And she was pushy in a subtle way. She’d wanted him away from Andy. When she’d  _ found _ them the tattooed man had tried to toss Jaune behind him to keep them apart and the fire in her eyes caused Jazz to back up slightly, which was how he’d ended up between them in the first place. But she’d wanted him in between herself and  _ Brendon.  _ Which was the order they sat in the moment Jaune had needed to get up. Subtly pushy. She was important. He didn’t know exactly what she did, but those hand panels in Temporary Housing had responded to her, meaning she had clearance for their prison system. It was a good idea for her to be in charge, she didn’t ring any bells for ‘threat’ as nice as she was, so people weren’t automatically wary of her. She was very strong, she’d pulled him and tossed him in the seat like it was nothing. And she had been supporting her fair share of Qrow’s body weight. Chances were she had an activated Aura. She worked for Mother. 

  
  
Brendon next. Semblance was probably that  _ amazing  _ voice. He seemed to be on the same level as Kida but while she had the ability to wander around all day, he was in the records room in the basement of the church they were sitting in. The records room held a SHIT TON of information. He’d have to figure out how well it was guarded. First impressions were that it just... _ wasn’t  _ guarded. He’d been sent down with no preamble, unless being Caspien gave him weird clearance. Either way, he still needed Brendon to actually  _ access  _ the information. He didn’t know what he was looking for. Brendon had taken out ten random books and set them in front of him. But he’d barely needed to even look at the spines, and none of them had been labeled. Brendon just knew where everything was. So staying on Brendon’s good side was important. After all, Andy  _ didn’t _ know where anything was even through it was his job. Brendon  _ also  _ worked for Mother. 

Andy was without doubt the single best person he’d met so far. Kida and Brendon weren’t giving out any information cause they were  _ assholes.  _ Well, not quite assholes, they didn’t give him any information because he was supposed to know all of this already. In that vein, they were kinda good, treating him like he was already a citizen with high clearance so that everyone  _ else  _ would do the same. Neither of them were trying to hurt him, they were actually trying to keep him alive. Andy did  _ not  _ treat him like he’d already been here. Andy treated him like a normal ass person...probably because Andy was ‘new’ and didn’t know the person from thirteen years ago. He was nice and helpful and while he  _ also  _ brought the amnesia excuse, he was good for teaching about Crucible itself, rather than try to remind him of who he was supposed to have been. Something told him the other guy didn’t work for Mother. Mostly the fact that he didn’t have a kind word for her. Granted, it wasn’t  _ crazy _ to hate your boss, but  _ something  _ about how he’d spoken about her. Not to mention, he trusted Father. Mother had warned him away from Father and Brendon had doubled the warning, even though he was  _ supposed _ to be friends with the guy. 

He’d just met Jazz, but he was logging her as important both for the fact that she could bully Brendon and Kida didn’t seem to like her. She was rough and gruff, but Andy was close to her. Like him, she was too new to have any real opinion on the guy he was ‘supposed’ to be. She hadn't said anything to ping her as dangerous or not, but she gave off the same aura Nora and Ren had switched between upon first starting Beacon. When Nora was happy go lucky and being overzealous, Ren stood like a pillar, strong and stern. And when  _ Ren _ was half asleep she turned into a sentinel, smile gone and hand a warning on Maggie. She had the same sort of mildly paranoid protector sense. The question remained, who was she protecting? Andy? It didn’t seem like it, he’d have seen her yesterday. But she  _ had  _ felt the need to intimidate Brendon just for saying something against Andy, even something harmless. 

Then there was Mother. First thoughts, she was a bitch. But...that was only  _ very _ first impressions. She was apparently law and order here, Tyrian- after that display- was pretty damn high up. Probably the only real reason she’d not attacked him. Though she didn’t bother to hide any animosity towards him, snapping and snarling. She’d also done as she’d said, bringing Jaune to see that Ren was safe with his own eyes. Honest. She’d  _ also  _ set a lightning whip on Qrow. Uncompromising. And she was his ‘best friend’ It was the  _ most  _ shocking that she was able to maintain friendships honestly….apparently thirteen years ago when Caspien left she’d changed for the worse. They were operating under the  _ crazy _ assumption that if Caspien came back she’d be nicer again or  _ wait a minute.  _

_ “He’s the right age, he looks just like him,  _

_ he’s wearing the armor  _

_ and he’s quite content to play along!” _

Mother had memory issues. It wasn’t the puzzle piece he was looking for, but it did slot several things into place. Whatever had happened when Caspien left, it was probably related to that in some way. Her memories and possibly her kindness were focused on one important Caspein and the willingness of some poor schmuck to pretend he was in fact that person. They probably hoped that someone would play along and sink into life and get so used to it they forgot that they  _ weren't  _ actually Caspien. …. Memory issues to exploit and change her personality. That made Brendon make more sense. Of  _ course  _ Blondes the right age wouldn’t last, they either didn’t act right and blew everything or they made her worse and had to be handled for the good of everyone. What had he gotten himself  **_into_ ** ? Jaune groaned to himself. Well, this was going to be….interesting. He had to wait until Ren and Qrow were out of Temporary, maybe be extra nice to Kida until then. Nora was a non issue, hence why Ren hadn’t been worried about her. Tyrian was a big deal and had claimed her as his niece. Even though….that was more like…..second cousins or something. Okay, weirdness aside, his team was safe, which was the most important thing. He already had his weapon back, get the weapons to the others, stay under the radar since they were outnumbered and figure out a way out of here while figuring out where ‘here’ even was in relation to everything. Easy…... _ Fuck _ . 


	15. Problematic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just wondering, Who of *anyone* in Crucible do you think is Trustworthy? Also, Harmonylite, you are a sweetheart and an angel and THANK YOU!!!

As the stomach of the chicken started to glow, it started squawking indignantly….then  **_fearfully_ ** . Its body was ripped apart as the rock it had eaten earlier grew inside of it, glowing with a sigil. The chicken gave its last warbling squawks of displeasure and discomfort...then, it rather violently  _ exploded _ , the two people that were standing where it had been were covered in chicken guts.    


“Oh  _ Yay _ , it worked. So often the sigil gets digested, or they don’t take the right animal…..or little miss  _ Bitch _ notices the brand and mars it.” Lupita shook out her frizzy curls, absently noting that she’d need to wash them to get out chicken goop.   


“I can’t thank you  _ enough _ darling.” The calm voice of Father cooed to her, her answering smile was as brilliant at the sun. “Now, stay and wait for me, this shan’t take very long. I just need to find the Gift for Hilda.” Lupita nodded savagely, even as the rest of the chickens gathered at her feet, pecking at her as if demanding she return their friend/sister. Luckily, chickens are particularly  _ vicious _ creatures and she was able to scoop some guts off of the shoulder of her dress, tossing them for the cannibals to be distracted by. Father himself was able to scare the chickens away with a glance. They didn’t want to peck at  _ him.  _ Then he simply left the pen.

It was always so  _ annoying _ getting into Temporary Housing. Mother  _ refused _ to let him waltz in and do as he pleased with the people here, claiming they were ‘hers.’ It was so tiresome, but on the plus side, it annoyed her whenever he stole anyone from here, and would distract her for a bit as she tried to make better security. Honestly woman, trying to strip him of his rights here. And Caspien was back…. _ allegedly.  _ Though unfortunately the boy Andy spoke of looked right and he was the right age too. It was enough to make him  _ angry _ . Caspien was supposed to be a moot point. He himself had seen to that problem thirteen long years ago. If it was someone that  _ looked _ like Caspien that could be either harmful or helpful but for the sake of the Goddess if Caspien were  _ back.  _ He snarled, but put it to the back of his mind. Soon enough he’d find out….before or after the information was more difficult to find. 

He walked around the building, half angry and half impressed. Looks like the  _ last _ security update, caused by either him or the prisoners, ended up with all the people harshly separated. That made sense. You couldn’t band together and plan if you were too far to make friends. Still, this building was four floors and the absolute last thing he needed was for Kida to come running to see if she’d closed up properly. He avoided making too much noise as he wandered, peering into each cell in an attempt to find ‘Qrow Branwen’ No, no, and  _ more  _ no. He had to find the man, but all he found were softly snoring bodies that were all supposed to be here because they were  _ always _ here. Either for being disobedient or  _ too _ obedient. He stopped outside one door, the figure behind the glass he couldn’t get through was taking deep breaths. Measured and still, too still. Even people that slept like the dead would have some shifting. Very well, someone was both awake and making a concentrated  _ effort _ to seem like they were sleeping. Interesting. 

Father narrowed his eyes at the sight, but he couldn’t tell who exactly was in there. This was either something very good, or horribly terrible. But there was no time for interesting non sleeping people, if it was something bad he’d handle it later. But for  _ right _ now he had to intercept the gift to Hilda before she received it, or worse, Tyrian noticed. Father turned on his heel and continued his trek through the maze known as Temporary Housing. He had  _ important _ things to do….well,  _ find _ , maybe do. Quite possibly do. He shook his head as he continued walking down the halls and through the maze like structure. Had Audrey been in here to restructure the rooms? That girl was a  _ pest _ at the best of times. Unfortunately, Mother watched her far too closely for him to do himself a favor and get rid of her. That  _ sister _ of hers…..Nahara could be useful if only she weren’t stuck to a buzzing little insect of annoyance. Ah well. These things happened, he wouldn’t let it bother him. Unlike  _ her _ he focused on the Bigger picture, little annoyances wouldn’t be allowed to burrow under his skin.    
  
Another turn down a too long hallway that was probably going to be a dead end and a few minutes of walking before…. 

“Who’re you?” Father stopped dead at the call. There was a man standing there, grey hair spiked up and back in some horrid  _ thing _ like the tail feathers of a bird, eyes pink and slightly dazed. Father looked him over. “Are you Clover?” Qrow asked, eyes narrowing. He couldn’t remember a lot about Clover, just that he was really pretty and…..nice…..he remembered that Clover was nice. And…. “No….No he had” And his hand raises, gesturing helplessly at his own torso before remembering “Shoulders...broad shoulders you could….you could use one to rest on, strong  _ broad _ shoulders.” Father chuckled, golden eyes dancing with amusement as they took the man in. Tall, but he leaned from the self saddled weight of the world on his shoulders. Eyes were the windows to the soul, and right now they were dazed, not fully understanding. Seems like someone was a carnivore. Lines pulling at his face, not from age, but just how hard they’d been set, soft frown in his forehead, an easy smirk resting in his crow’s feet. But of course, the surface wasn’t the  _ most _ intriguing thing he saw.    
  
“No Qrow Branwen I should think not.” Father said, amused smirk dancing around his lips as his head tilted. “However, I  _ am  _ helpful to you. Kida. She runs this lovely place, she answers to Mother. Neither of them very much  _ like _ me. But I am your friend. You have to trust me on that. If you want to ever see them again, Pancake Queen and Broody. You have to _ trust me _ .” Qrow’s unfocused eyes locked onto the man, eyes narrowed like he was trying to remember a very important question. One that he wouldn’t get to with the lack of focus he currently held, the mind fading in and out. “It’s very hard to think right now with that radio on isn't it? I’ll fix that for you.” And Qrow tried to focus on the man even as he walked out of sight of the cell. Unseen by him, Father went back to the end of the hall and to the fuzebox. Opening it, he found the number that had been placed over Qrow’s cell and axifed the signal jammer before he strode back down.    
  
In his cell Qrow heard the whispery messages of love and devotion abruptly shut off and sighed. Then he looked up to see the man from before was back. Tall. That was his first impression of the man. He should have been lanky, or spindily or gangely. He wasn’t any of those, just…. _ extremely  _ tall. His gold eyes sparkled like tiny suns and his face…..Qrow blinked. He had to be  _ REALLY  _ out of it. Otherwise he needed someone good at math cause that face was... _ perfect.  _ High Cheekbones, romanesque nose, arched brows. He looked like a statue, a group of perfect ratios to make a human face it almost hurt to look at him. Maybe it was because he wasn’t human, the barest hint of fangs peeked out from under his full cupid bow lips. White hair was tossed and an eyebrow raised as he….oh, he was speaking. 

“Yeah” Qrow shook his head, mind finally connecting that the man in front of him was asking if that was better. “Sorry. My head’s….fuzzy” The man nodded indulgently. “Why are you helping me? You said you were a friend?”   
  
“Yes. I’m the only one you can  _ trust _ around here. After all. I’m not the one that hurt you and locked you away, now am I?” No….No he wasn’t. There was….long white hair but, choppy cut not…..not waves. And darker skin….like….like  _ coffee _ , medium...with two sugars and cream and a smirk cause black coffee tasted like tar and he should admit it and smiling seafoam eyes…..Qrow shook his head, knocking out the half memory that rose. 

“It was a woman…..” He focused on the snowy hair to try and keep his mind on the right person. “A woman and her mother.” He nodded, and jerked as the phantom pain of electric shocks danced along his spine. He got himself together fairly quickly, huffing out a breath through his nose.    
  
“Kida” The man said again. “Kida and Mother tossed you in here. They fed you poison that made your mind fuzzy. It should make you angry that they did this to you. You should attack Kida when she brings you food in the morning.” Qrow blinked blearily. Even out of it….there was  _ something _ about that plan that was off in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “It’s foolproof” The man continued. “She goes to worship before she comes to feed you all breakfast. That means it’s still early. She’s overexerted from praising so hard and she’s only half paying attention. She’ll open the door and walk in with your food and that’s when you can escape. Such a thin girl, a twig really. There’s no way she can stop you, and once you get out I can take you where those horrible women can’t get to you. After all, I helped” Qrow nodded along dumbly and the man smiled. After all, Qrow had been  _ poisoned _ and Father was very familiar with the effects. “If you obey, I can get you to Ruby and Yang all the faster.”    
  
“Wait.” Qrow may have slurred out the word, but his focus was sharpening. Something….something was wrong. To be fair to the man, a  _ lot _ of things were wrong but… “I didn’t…. How do you know my nieces?” He asked, looking up. It was only then that he noticed the odd thing about the man. Not his height no, not the mathematical perfection of his face that shouldn’t have been possible. Not even the fangs peaking out through lips that were in a constant half smile. It was the fact that the golden eyes watching him….they hadn’t blinked once. Not unless he’d blinked when going to fix the radio...even then.    
  
“You mentioned them of course” The man said, not even pausing to think. His pretty mouth was pulled tight in concern and he…..blinked. As the man blinked so did Qrow. He….he  _ was  _ blinking then and Qrow just hadn’t noticed? Maybe? “You mentioned that you needed to get out of here to protect them.” Qrow nodded, mouth feeling like it was full of cotton and mind still a bit fuzzy on hows, whens, and whys. That  _ did _ sound like him though. 

“Oh…..okay…. Guess I……  _ forgot _ . Whatever Kids dosed me with hits like a train.” He shook his head again as the man nodded in sympathy. Attack her when she brought breakfast and she wasn’t ready for it. That….that still sounded like a dumb plan. 

“Get some rest” The man ordered gently. “Remember, after you get Kida out of the way, you still have to outrun her to the entrance where I can get to you. It’s safe to sleep now, there are no more messages.” Father bowed his head and strode away. He did in fact hear Qrow calling out to him, asking who he was. But that was a question he wouldn’t be answering so that Mother’s annoyances wouldn’t catch on too quickly. He stayed until he heard soft snoring, then went right back to the ‘Pen’ so that Lupita could get them out. Tomorrow was going to prove very…..  _ Fortuitous.  _

* * *

  
  


Father was surprised to see Mother talking to, well...anyone. Besides a few outliers he’d done a fantastic job here and most people knew better than to trust her. As he approached he noticed that the group was  _ all  _ outliers. How annoying. The front left corner had been claimed for that woman. And what’s more, they were circled around someone new so that he couldn’t get to them first. He had to admit that it was a sound strategy from his ‘loving’ wife. Someone new would make friends and said friends, all being agents of Mother, would manage to steer someone down the path of most annoyance. Well, he wasn’t going to be dissuaded simply because of present company. He’d approached this spot, he wasn’t backing down from it, besides-starting chimes had gone out. There was no time to find a new seat as the ‘lessers’ scrambled to their own. 

“Well hello there sweet one. You’re  _ new _ .” He smiled at her, absently noting that Audrey tensed and Nahara looked ready to kill him. How rude, she’d get the wrong idea about who to trust around here. And she…..he took a deep breath, practically  _ tasting  _ her fear in the air. “I am the Father of this place.” He cooed to calm her. “There’s no need to worry about-”

  
“Hello  _ Father _ ” Amused golden eyes flicked from the redhead to the brunette. Protective and distrustful. Jorge Saravad-Valkariye had arrived a little over a week ago and in that short amount of time had decided to create a  _ decade  _ worth of trouble for him. The man always seemed to be right where he wasn’t needed, like right now, blocking Nora from view as he puffed up in front of her and let Nahara pull her close. It was a shame really, a pure pity that due to him making friends with the wrong sort of people he continued to be….problematic to say the least. “I see you met  **_my_ ** **_Great Granddaughter_ ** **_._ ** ” 

“Oh?” Now that was odd. There was a firm assuredness from Jorge, but Nora didn’t seem...He frowned as she was blocked from his vision again. It seemed Mother’s people were firmly trying to keep her away from him. Normally he wouldn’t care, but if Caspien, or ‘ _ a  _ Caspien’ were around, it made a few things a bit more precarious. He had Andy  _ watching  _ the new blonde, but he was still an issue. Father took a deep breath and  _ calmed  _ himself to pay attention to the sermon. There was nothing to worry about. The Hilda herself was an issue, but he was in the process of fixing that and now this  _ new  _ wrench. Hmmmm, maybe there was something he could do to shift the tide. 

  
  


* * *

There was something vaguely familiar in the cheekbones of the man that took the stage. His face was gaunt and pinched and unlike Tyrian or Brendon-both of whom had danced around the stage like the wood under their feet was what gave them aura, he seemed _disturbingly_ tired, a weariness that sank into his bones themselves. It was a wonder he didn’t pull a chair onstage. He _was_ limping, leaning on his right side. His left hand was missing as he almost _shyly_ approached the podium.   
  
“Prayer…” He started, with a voice as firm as a mountain-even though it seemed a stiff wind would knock him over. “Prayer is an amazing thing.” He stood as straight as he was able, long grey streaked black hair in a ponytail as tired amber eyes looked out at everyone. “Prayers are so often unanswered. But _why_.” He took another breath, eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on what to say. “I don’t have the answers of course. The only one that can answer our prayers is the goddess. And I _believe_ that I’ve thought on it enough to know why so often our prayers are ignored.” He paused to look out at the congregation. “Are we _ready_ for what we ask?” He quieted, letting the question sink. “Or, in rushing, do we ask for what we _think_ we want, instead of allowing the goddess to bless us with what we need?” He took a deep sigh, and exsauted eyes surveyed everyone once more. “There was a time, before I came here. As it was for most of you. A time _before_.” There were whispers and Nora noticed that Nahara and Audrey had both _tensed._ “Some of us remember well, the time _before_ …..others…..others do not. I knew the before.” He nodded.   
  


“What in the name of the Goddess is he doing?” Mother demanded of the man sitting next to her. His answer was to brush back his waves of snowy hair and shrug. “I think he needs a trip to  _ temporary _ ”   
  
“I trust him” Father said. That particular phrase caused Mother to  **_lock up._ ** Well, it was clear by her facial expression and body language that anyone he  _ liked _ was on a list and if he actually trusted someone…. Nora made a mental note to avoid  _ both _ Mother and Father like the Plague.    
  
“It was different, on the outside. I was a huntsman.” There were whispers that erupted at that, but Li took them in stride, nodding. “Yes. I was wrong, I was twisted, harming the creations of the goddess. I prayed every time I fought for the destruction of the Grimm. For the safety of my family….my village. I had a wife, she was on council to lead the town. I had a son, bright eyed and kind. I had wealth. But did I have  _ fulfillment? _ ” The whispers stopped, as everyone waited with baited breath for the answer to that question, but rather than answer it, he moved on. “Spending such time hunting Grimm, I never remembered to stop and take time for myself. And OH how I lamented my dear An, under so much stress to lead our people. How I wondered if I was doing what was right for my son.” He was quiet, and so the church was quiet, watching him to figure out where exactly he was going with….. _ this _ . Again he changed gears.    
  
“You may not know me as well as you know some others.” Nora frowned. Was this guy just full of disjointed thoughts? “I am not Mother,” And there were murmurs at that, sighs of relief, ‘ _ thank the goddess there’s only one of that thing’ _ Nora heard quite clearly. Nahara and Audrey both frowned at that and Nora got the impression Tyrian’s friends were on the side of someone that hated him. It would seem a better judge of character were they not also  _ Tyrian’s friends’ _ . Mother, if she heard the comments, gave no indication they bothered her, though  _ Father _ was strangely pleased, puffing up slightly. “You do not see me screaming and keeping perfect order here. I am not Father. You do not come to me in times of peril to soothe your torment. I am not the Hilda, known to all….nor am I the Tamer-Akeno Bae, welcoming you as you receive your necessary food. I am not Melinda Song the Tailor, you do not see me to make you look wondrous. But I am  _ here _ . I make the paper for the books found here. The books in Temporary, the song books, the books of the library, even the papers carried by Kida have been made by me. I have been here over ten years in a role so  _ vital _ but it is so different then what I knew. I prayed for an end to Grimm, for safety of my wife and child…..and now, I have no family and I pray for their safety every day. … I pray….but why? What is the goddess attempting to tell me? I am no longer celebrated. I no longer see my son with stars in his eyes. But still I have learned here. Still here, skills I had thought useless were utilized to great effect. I have not seen my son grow, but I have seen so many new and lost come into this community and learn. I had not prayed for this life, and yet-is it not a wonderful life? My skills are appreciated and I am not accosted in the street. I lost so much, to gain so much. I see so many grow and learn. I have peace at last, instead of a constant fight.” His eyes lifted to look out at everyone. “Could it be that Goddess knows best? That we ourselves cannot fathom what true joy is? We must remain diligent in our worship of the Goddess, true and just, and she will reward us with what we need….even when it is something we do not know. And All shall praise.” 

“Praise the Goddess and her might” Nora and Mother both frowned. No one sounded…..as  _ Jazzed  _ as when Tryian had spoken or Brendon had sung. If anything, they sounded…. _ somewhat confused. _ To be fair, his was more…. Disjointed than the others. It still rang out with a stern sort of truthfulness. That sometimes horrible things happened so that you could receive a blessing. Why was it that the same message as Tyrian’s own felt…….almost  _ empty  _ when Li spoke. He bowed deeply and walked off the stage. Mother got up, face tight with anger. Even without a weapon Nora got up to follow the woman. Maybe she could stop her from electroshocking an old man with her lightning whip.    
  
“Excuse me” She pushed past the people in her pew. Father, the gorgeous man in front of her turned to her. Maybe to stop her, maybe to help her. Either way, though he reached for her he was stopped from actually touching her by Jorge and Nahara, both of whom stood up to block him from her. Nora hardly noticed, following in a Bee-line the older woman caused. Mother marched with a straight back and people parted for her like she was a boulder in a river. Nora was able to keep a step behind her due to no one wanting to be anywhere near her. The far side of the stage had some stairs leading to a curtain. Said curtain is where Mother was headed. Tyrian and Hilda were both in the front on the other side of the church, by the curtain. She ripped the curtain back and continued to  _ seethe _ as she stormed past an odd little cut off area and to the stairs on the other side. Nora barely glanced over at the band that had played, trying to follow the woman down the stairs and get her away from ‘Li’. A huge Tiger Faunus got up, trying to hold back Mother. The guitarist tried jumping up too, but Mother vanished down the stairs and so that was where Nora went. She could have  _ sworn _ she heard someone call her name, but it was probably just Tyrian. It sounded male. But she was  _ focused _ . Down the stairs she flew, taking three at a time. How the fuck did the other lady move so fast in a _ ballgown _ ? 

“ ** _SLOW DOWN. LEMMIE CORRECT YOU. You’re tryin ta fix somethin that is_** **not** ** _an issue. You’re racing fast because of your kind heart, you need to wait so explanations can start. And- I KNOW you’re seeing a problem, but hear me out with you don’t_** **have** ** _to solve this one. So turn around and calm your pretty face. Li wouldn't be harmed even in this case”_** She really should stop. There was a suitable explanation for this. She was just being overzealous because it was an old man and she'd seen Mother do some........ _wait_. Nora had slowed down as she calmed but now she turned, eyes blazing and directed to 'Brendon'.  What the hell? Jaune was just pleased as punch to have called that Brendon’s voice _was_ in fact connected to his semblance. He just needed to figure out the upper limits to that. The **_LAST_** thing he needed was for them to be halfway to escaping and the brunette pull something like _that_ out of his bag of tricks. Brendon was smiling cheekily because she'd stopped. He stepped forward but she didn't want to deal with him and so the redhead turned to see….

“NORA!” She hadn’t recognized him before. She hadn’t even  _ glanced _ at him because she was so single minded on her task. Jaune’s hair was a pretty distinct color, but it was completely covered by the white flatback cap as he ran over to her. Anyone else would have fallen from 200 pounds of mostly muscle slamming into them. Most people weren't Nora. She absorbed the blow like it was nothing.    
  


“Told you we’d find her at worship Caspien!” Nora looked past Jaune to the man that was coming up behind them…..the man that was in….leather pants…..and no shirt. Weren't you supposed to dress Fancy? Jaune certainly had. Besides the cap, his shirt was red. Bright Pyrrha red and a darker maroon both wrapped around him in a criss cross pattern. Though her sash was still wrapped around his waist it blended in to look like a section from his shirt. White pants, skin tight at the top and flared slightly at the bottom to show off.   
  
“Ohhhhhhh, the sneakers are _gone_ ” Nora teased looking at the sharp black boots, polihind to a spiffy shine, then looked back at the man whom was staring at her with eyes too blue to be real. “Isn’t that the Guitarist?” They were calling him ‘Caspien’ here, but that was the least of their problems.   
  
“Andy” He said, reaching out for her hand. She shoved it out to shake like a normal person, but he grabbed her hand and bowed low, kissing the back of it. Her surprise probably showed on her face cause he got a cheeky looking smile and winked at her. “Hey, you’re _Tyrian’s_ niece. That means be _EXTRA_ nice to you. I mean, I’m a nice person but still. _Extra_ nice.” That didn’t make any sense. Before Nora could comment on it Mother came back, walking slowly as Li leaned on her, she let the elderly man use her as a crutch even though her eyes flashed with irritation and disgust….and….something... _else._ Not quite kindness, more akin to a begrudging sort of pity.  
  
“Kida. You are still here. Interesting development” Her voice was tinted with something that was somehow furious, relieved, glacial and _kind_...all at once. But it was clearly only _Kida_ that was the subject of any of those emotions. “Li Ren needs to be escorted to Temporary Housing. Diet.” There was something _else_ in her voice, something straddling the line between caution and genuine concern. “He misses his son. There is no active danger. Just... emotional distress. Mr. Snow is wonderful company to stressed individuals. I believe you told me he was currently there?” Nora felt rushing in her ears. Jaune’s eyes widened in shock.   
  
“Is” Kida took the man whom they could now see had been leaning on Mother not due to _injury_ as previously thought, but simple exhaustion. “Did you just…” His eyes were red and his face lined with something _worse_ than pain. “I thought...I _saw”_ Mother, though she had allowed him to rest on her shoulders, looked both bewildered and vaguely horrified at that strange thing called ‘emotion’ that he was going through. “WAIT!” Nora went to stop them again as Kida started to walk away with the man. Her brain caught up and let her spit out a though. Jaune was still staring in shock.  
  
“Yes, I _heard_ you calling. What was it you needed Hilda Nora?” Nora blinked. Why call her….actually she’d done that to Jorge too. Hilda Jorge. “I am an extremely busy woman. I do not have all day” Mother’s tone was clipped and irritated even as Tyrian and Hilda tried to get into the space.   
  


“No I need the lady!” But Kida was fast as she held his weight on herself, striding purposely away from Nora. To be fair, she may have been trying to get him out of the view of people. “You said his name was ‘Li  _ Ren’ _ My best friend’s name is  _ Lie _ Ren!!!”    
  
“ **MOVE** ” No longer exhausted. No longer dazed or out of it or even  _ tired, _ Li scrambled, as well as he was able to with his limp, back to the group. “You….you met my  _ son _ ? Is he alive? Is he okay? Where….  **_HOW_ ** !!!”   
  
“Kida” That low masculine voice. Nora’s eyes darted up to look at Father. He looked…. _ smug?  _ “Didn’t you have a Mr.  _ Lie _ Ren in Temporary Housing?” Kida froze, face confused before it shifted to a mask of terror. “Were you keeping them from each other? Ripping a  _ family _ apart?” Mother’s hand darted down to the spot on her dress where her whip should be. While it was great seeing everyone on the apparent side of the lady that had  _ barbecued  _ Qrow looking so miserable...it was...odd how gently pleased Father seemed. “My how you’ve fallen. I think we should all take a stroll to Temporary and -”   
  
“And everyone is spoiling the surprise” The group froze, all turning to Melinda. “He’s a seemster. Kida saw his name and I expedited the process. Li has a fitting in a week. He was going to be so happy.” Kida was confused for approximately point two seconds before she caught on.    
  
“YES! I just have to get his house set up. He’d requested to be by The Hilda.” She nodded happily. “I just have to arrange his living quarters. And Li isn’t really stable enough for a reunion right now. He seems to have gotten a bit  _ worse _ in fact.” Nora and Jaune simultaneously take a nervous step back from the sheer amount of  _ venom  _ Kida snarled out with her voice. It switched back to softly sweet as she spoke to Li once more. “But I can place you in the cell across from Mr. Lie  _ Ren _ , that’s not a problem at all Mr. Li Ren.” Father looked  _ murderous _ for a moment, but the smile soon slipped across his face and something wasn’t right.….Jaune’s eyes narrowed and he reached out, arm slinging around Nora and pulling her closer in a way that to outsiders would look like lovers getting cozy. Predictably as Andy saw it he turned away to give them privacy. Jaune bent down to whisper in Nora’s ear as Father tried to persuade Kida to place Lie Ren with Li Ren in Eastern Housing.    
  
“Did you tell that guy Ren’s first name?” She shook her head. “Kida didn’t know it. And even if she did….they don’t look like friends.” Nora nodded again. “You said your best friend was Lie Ren. How’d  _ that guy _ know it was the same Ren in prison without the first name?” Her eyes narrowed. Good point. It could’ve been a guess….but with how  _ sure  _ he’d sounded. “We have to stay on Mother’s good side until I can figure out how to get us out of here.” Nora nodded softly. Her mind was already fixed on three possible exit strategies- the family she’d apparently had.    
  
“I’ve got ideas.”


	16. SORRY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! ....... I'm alive!!!! Heh....heh.....sorry. THIS is my sorry. It's a bonus chapter. Nothing in it effects the plot at all. It's backstory but it's to appologize for being so HORRIFICALLY late. Is there more backstory stuff? Yes, I have it written. Why didn't I post it all at once? Because I need something *else* for when I have fucked up again, as a good friend told me. Because I will INEVITABLY fuck up again. We take a short break from Crucible in the next few chapters for that whole 'plot' thing and my motivation it seems, didn't want to leave either and so left me in hopes I'd change my mind. Motivation and Depression. They work in tandem and tag team each other I swear.

**_WATCHING_ **   
  
Alexandra Callows was always the type of person to get what she wanted. Either she demanded it and it was provided, or she worked for it. If she herself couldn’t get it, then it would be given to her whether the other party knew they were falling into her trap or not. Of course, this line of pretentious thinking could only come  _ from _ one Alexandra Callows herself, even if the wording was a  _ little _ less pretentious coming from a five year old. That didn’t change the fact that as soon as she’d seen Sara she  **_bolted_ ** . There were a few benefits to being her, like people letting her into places she wasn’t supposed to be if she batted her eyes or threatened to cry, and so she was allowed onto her favorite turret. The one with a perfect view of the east side of the food wall. She grabbed her binoculars despite not being that far away and focused them.    
  
Helga Valkyrie-Romanova sighed again. Before her mother Brunhilda had come to Crucible, there were no walls. Her father Nikoli hadn’t thought much of it….he  _ still _ didn’t think much of it but...her mother kinda bulldozed him a lot. She didn’t seem to really like her husband. Helga tilted her ear up. It could be mistaken as looking more closely at a spot on the wall. That’s what she was supposed to be doing anyway.Finding any cracks and sealing them before starting patrol. Nothing ever actually cracked the wall, but she tilted to better hear the scrambling of the little girl that  _ thought _ she was being subtle. Alexandra usually arrived right before Sara, so her sister was due to attack hug her during a change of shift soon. Helga frowned. The little girl avoided her like the plague, just looking at her from behind corners and stuff before sprinting off. Even at seven, Helga could recognize when behavior was weird and her little heart hurt. It was one thing to like Sara better...most people did. It was one thing to not like her, that happened. She was too quiet, too standoffish. That made sense. Her mom too was...kind of intense and intimidating. But….but it still bothered her that Alexandra hated her so much when she obviously adored her sister. If she’d talk to her she’d say sorry for….she didn’t even  _ know _ what just…..something.    
  
Alexandra perked up, she heard Sara before she saw her. One of the main  _ kingdoms _ probably heard Sara as she raced to the third wall whooping loudly. The young girl stood on her box and leaned over with her binoculars in hand. It was without a doubt, the  _ MOST  _ important time of the day. As Sara  _ raced _ to the wall, Helga gently placed her mother’s axe down. She opened her arms as her twin threw down their mother’s hammer, and then, as Sara leapt into the arms of her twin and Helga caught her, the quiet girl’s stoney countenance cracked and a smile more blindingly brilliant than the sun was seen. It was only for a moment. Then she was trying to hide it, schooling her features unattractively into frowns and scowls of overcompensation. Sara scoffed at her, even as Alexandra scurried off just as quickly as she arrived. The brunette missed the glance the newest redhead gave as her twin sighed heavily, wishing she knew what she’d done to offend the girl. 

  
  
  


**_~~~~Looking Glasses and Flipped Coins~~~_ **   
  
  


  
  


Nikolai Romanoff was always the type of person to get what he wanted. Either he demanded it and it was provided, or he hired someone who worked to bring it to him. If he herself couldn’t get it….then it would be  _ given _ to him whether the other party knew they were falling into his trap or not. Of course, this line of pretentious thinking could only come  _ from _ one Nikolai Romanoff himself, pretentious maybe, but he was one of three people being looked at to be the newest Emperor of Mantle, according to his sources at least. The emperor had no children, practically a  _ crime _ itself. Children were extra hands, and needed in the tundras of Solitas. But the childless recluse had been rumored to be at death’s door and was looking for a true patriot to take up the banner of Mantle. He was a shoe in. He was of a noble house, second largest dust supplier in Mantle. Sure _ Schnee  _ was the first, but he also dealt in jewelry! And furs, and real estate. He was a shrewd businessman and a cruel politician not above using whatever means he had to get his way.    
  
And today he was looking at something he just  _ had _ to have. Helga Valkyrie was well known. The Valkyrie family was one of farmers, one of the most important professions out in the snow. They managed to keep the animals fed and healthy with the plant dust they shared out to no one. They also used this dust to grow trees, the only lumber mill on Solitas. She was soft spoken, clever, charming and not bound by any meaningless emotions to anything but her family. Which consisted of her mother, father, and older sister. She would have been the perfect wife….save for one flaw. The thing that made her so meak and soft spoken, was what could not be fixed. A rare birth defect and an aura that wasted itself trying to fix her. She was far too fragile for  _ copulation _ even, let alone bearing him all the children he’d need to prove how good of an emperor he’d be. But the  _ creature _ beside her!!!   
  
The woman was tall, far taller than a woman had any right being, and her bare arms were thickly corded muscle. Unlike Helga’s delicate features, the woman’s were as bold as her voice, nose sharp and with a nudge that meant it had been previously broken. Her flame red hair was pulled back into a helm of sorts before falling with a soft wave, though as she angled her head toward her sister the light caused it to dance and change between ginger, autumn, and tangerine a pair of weapons-an axe and mace were across her back, and she rested an oversized-even by the standards of the other two weapons, mace on her shoulder. She seemed to have no care but to walk with Helga and laugh at, presumably, the appropriate parts in the story from the voice that couldn’t rise above a whisper lest the coughing fit finally take the girl out.    
  
That one…..she was  _ perfect _ . She was of good breeding and so educated. She’d bear him children and her  _ face _ . Oh he could see her now, draped in silks and satin, smiling proudly at their brood of princess and princesses. If she were anything like her sister she knew to politely excuse herself when matters of state came up and gossip about idle things with the other rich people. Her unfortunate muscles were due to dragging about in the dirt and she wouldn’t need that anymore. He’d make it so that her family was so well cared for they could do away with the farm and sell their plant dust like they so obviously wanted to do.   
  


“SLOW DOWN DAMMED WOMAN” A masculine voice caused Nickoli to narrow his eyes. Who on  _ Remnant _ thought it was worthy of his prize?    
  
“CATCH UP!” The woman fired back with a grin. “IT’S A WONDER YOUR SOLDIERS GET ANY EXERCISE WITH A COMMANDER SO SOFT ON THEM!” They exchange barks of laughter and then……a commander with a promising career...Sara something….something  _ stupid _ SaraVeien? SaraGaurd, Sarasings…...Sarasomething loped up behind them, weighed down by the armor he always wore and the elk across his back. He tried to take his mace back from her but she rolled her shoulders to keep it out of his grasp. “A weapon like this should have a bearer with some  _ speed _ don’t you think?” She grinned.    
  
“Ah. I suppose I’ll be off with the elk  **_I_ ** killed?” This prompted another bark of laughter.    
  
“Oh yes. You correctly skinning something to save  _ every _ bone. That I want to see”    
  
“At least I  _ cook  _ it before just making jerky or soup”   
  
“WHAT’S WRONG WITH JERKY AND SOUP!?” The woman demanded. Helga giggled at them, as much as she could before she started coughing. She mouthed something that made ‘Sara’ burst into laughter and the woman get falsely offended   
  
As the three traveled, their conversation faded. Nickoli’s frown deepened. He wasn’t one that was used to not getting what he wanted. …… well. He’d just have to use a few spies in good places to find out just what he needed. 

  
  


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

* * *

  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**_WEDDING_ **

  
Brunhilda looks longingly at the dress she  _ should _ be wearing. The white is a lie, but it’s ripped attractively. Not real rips, just a design choice, another illegal secret her sister hides. It looks almost as if it’s been worn to battle-ripped and torn and sleeveless. The overdress was a steel corset and plated skirt, still splashed with the blood that would never be cleaned. It’s as lovely as it is dangerous, and can be worn directly into war at the end of a ceremony. A testament to the personality and lives of both bride and groom as they bound themselves to one another in what was supposed to be a traditional handfasting ceremony-complete with stores of mead and running to aid their shield family in the good fight, christening their marriage and marriage clothes with the blood of their enemies.    
  
But no. The dress she was supposed to wear has been banned as ‘inappropriate’. If only he weren’t being looked at so closely she could strangle him. Actually, she still may be able too-he was a twig.    
  
The twig was putting her in white velvet, with her ‘unseemly’ arms covered by a fur stole. A white one. Damn, his red blood would have been noticed at once. Instead of down and held back by a metal helm, her hair had been swept into some overly complicated nightmare of braids and ringlets and it was pinned with flowers that were making her sneeze. The dress was floor length and she wore her battle boots. Heels be damned. This whole  _ day _ be damned. Her sister wasn’t even getting to perform the handfasting. No, the creature had gone ahead and gotten a member of his company to read aloud some asinine bondage agreement meant to turn her into his attractive broodmare. This whole farce was saved only by her softer sister, whom didn’t need the excitement of a murder scene.    
  
Her perfect day was ruined. Instead of the confidant  _ stomping  _ to a grinning Jorge, each step felt like she was being pulled back by the chains of her own common sense. She caught Jorge’s eye, sidelined to a groomsmen at what was supposed to be  _ their  _ wedding. He looked just as furious as she felt. Helga’s unreadable expression may as well have been bursting into tears for the people that knew her well, and her father wouldn’t meet her eyes. The only  _ happy  _ party was the slimy little sniveling groom, beady eyes looking up at her.    
  
  
After the ceremony, Jorge got his one  _ allowed _ dance with his intended. He was furious, but knew well enough to control his emotions. After all, this sort of occasion was a homing beacon to Grimm. He gave his greetings….slammed back a few lagers, and turned to leave, only to see there was someone  _ waiting _ for him by the exit. 

“Make this quick. I have to be back to battle in two days. I was hoping to get an early start.” She nodded in her quiet way, used to much harsher words from her own sister.    
  
“I have paperwork for my own marriage. All I lacked was a spouse” He snorts. Her lack of was of no choice other than her own. Helga was well known to review each and every marriage proposal that came to her, give the  _ same _ look of mildly horrified disgust, and toss them all in the fire. She seemed to have no want or care for anyone at all. But with the crackdowns it was becoming…. _ dangerous.  _ The longer she was unwed, the more proposals piled up. The more proposals, the more bitterness at her for not selecting. If she wasn’t careful she was going to end up being jailed for Emotional crimes. “Marry me” The coughing was startled out of him.    
  
“I…..I don’t believe I understood that….Perhaps I drank too much. Please repeat yourself Ma’am.” She took a moment to consider her words, then cleared her throat. Not that it did much, her voice was still as delicate as a butterfly wing and as soft as a gentle breeze.    
  
“Marry me” Jorge resisted the urge to laugh at how even her ‘ _ firm _ ’ tone of voice was akin to a baby bunny attempting to roar.    
  


“Very flattering. But unlike that idiot. I know you aren’t  _ interchangeable _ with Hildy. Also, no offense Ma’am. But you aren’t my type.” The smile she has is so warm for a moment there’s a genuine worry she may attempt to laugh, which would cause a coughing fit.    
  
“I know I’m not your type. But I  _ am  _ the sister of the woman stolen from you. And as her sister, I can do things like  _ visit _ her, and bring my husband along.” His eyes widened. While Hilda was stuck in a loveless marriage, he could have one of convenience. Helga was nice enough that he never had any  _ issue _ when her daily constitutionals intersected Hilda’s dates. And she tended to sit on the sidelines and politely clap at feets of strength. Otherwise she’d be in a book. Wickedly clever, good with money, biting sarcasm when you were close enough to hear her speak, she was a good friend. Still...it nagged at him.    
  
“I know you want to do this for Hilda….but Helga….it’s not fair to you. I…..I would  _ never  _ have sex with you. With your aura you’d have no children to pass a legacy onto. I’d be in the way of-” He’s cut off by the tiny, raspy, and dangerous bought of laughter coming from the woman in front of him. It only lasts a moment before it turns into horrible hacking coughs and she’s doubled over. He sobers quickly and brings her a napkin, one that grows worryingly red after just a few moments of being held to her mouth. It’s a tense ten minutes before she manages to lift herself back up.    
  
“Apologies.” She waves off his concern, even as she’s gone three shades paler. “A husband that’s never around, never bothers me, won’t try to have sex with me, and has emptied his mind of the asinine thought of children with me is _exactly_ the man I’d want to marry. As a bonus, I get to help my sister and I no longer have to deal with the endless line of imbeciles that think I care.” He’s stuck staring at the woman in front of him. Tiny and sickly and so often overwhelmed by Hilda’s presence, it occurs to him that she may have wanted that. That she liked being so small you could overlook her, she hoped that people would pity her so much they couldn’t look at her, she stuck near her sister to be rid of anyone glancing at her. “Marry me” And quiet or not. It was an order.    
  
“I have a member of my squadron with the authority to perform a ceremony tonight.” She nodded...and they left together. 

  
  
  


**_~~~~Looking Glasses and Flipped Coins~~~_ **   
  
  


  
  
“Okay I made my designs!” Alexandra bounced on her shins, made all the more impressive by the fact that she was sitting cross legged. Helga smiled at the enthusiasm and Hilda pretended she wasn’t listening from where she was slicing up the roast boar for dinner. “Some for you and some for me and I already _KNOW_ your design for yourself is something absolutely awful like-URGH o ramic!!!! But luckily you have me to save your life enough that you’re _MARRYING_ me! Not too late to back out. I mean I would be be _devastated_ if you backed out, but no real press ya know I love you and that means I want you happy and I know you’ve got literally _everyone_ to choose from cause _look_ at you but you could pick everyone else and still not get even half as good cause **_LOOK AT ME_**!!!!! We’re gonna be the hottest brides this side of _EVERYTHING_ and that’s what”  
  
“SHOW YOUR DAMN DESIGNS ALREADY!!!!” Hilda hasn’t grown in _patience_ with her age and she snaps at hearing Alexandra ramble. As she’s not actively _threatening_ her this time, the brunette considers it a plus and that her soon to be mother in law is accepting her.   
  
“I know you want simple but like, you’re _so_ beautiful and radiant that I just can’t. I mean I _tried_ more like you, like _like_ you but tell me if it’s still too fancy.” Alexandra was fretting as she flipped her sketchbook a few times. Helga resisted the urge to wince at the fluffy ballgowns in the book. Her eyes widened at the selection that Alex stopped on. It’s _tight_. So tight there’s a wonder how she’d breathe in it. The high collar is all lace, from the bottom of her chin to the sweetheart neckline of actual dress, a long column of pure white. The lace reappears at the hipline, her bare hips would be showing through the peekaboo design. The rough sketch of her hair has waves down her back. Alex isn’t one to be patient. At _all._ She hurriedly flips the page. “You hate it, it’s chill. I like this one better anyway. It’s less simple but lets you run and for _that_ caveat I get to make you fancy.” It’s a halter top with gems holding it up, so ridiculous and over the top that Helga can’t resist the smirk that pulls at her lip. The top shows her midriff but the gem studs are repeated on the capri pants. The sketch of her hair wasn’t in a braid,but instead in an updo, gems studded through it “What were your designs. Let me see. If you dare say something ridiculous I may just destroy your sketchbook. Otherwise we can push for time and I can make you something you like. I failed this time but hey a fail is just a try that didn’t work”   
  
“Alex?” It was the only thing that ever shut Alexandra up, and she nervously played with the curls in her hair. “I don’t like gems….could we make the first dress until the hips? Then...pants?” She looked down, worried….  
  
“HOLY FUCK YOU’RE SO RIGHT! That’s a wonderful idea. What a great choice OH and lace lets us, ohhh we're going to add more for the pants cause your legs are STUNNING I mean everything about you is astounding and….  
  
Helga smiles at the woman she can’t wait to marry. Alex has firmly logged into ‘Alex land’, where she’s talking far too quickly to be understood and it matters not what you say because the only thing she can hear is the agreement to whatever she’s said…..so….. _normal_ Alexandra….just more excited. Helga _loved_ seeing her excited. That and her own design for herself was just a white version of her training uniform. She glanced at her abandoned sketchbook. Alex hadn’t seen the design she’d made for her….at the same time she felt bad….Alex had managed to resist being _herself_ long enough to create two different looks for her, both of which were leaning more to her taste. But her own design was still….simple. She detested how many gems the other threw on, in Helga’s honest opinion, none of the rocks could hold a candle to the shine of her eyes. But that was sappy.   


* * *

  
It’s hard to schedule a wedding in the middle of a never ending war against the Grimm. But they did. Helga’s hair ended up being pulled up save for a few curled ringlets that framed her face. Unable to resist  _ some _ jewelry, there were a few pearls in her hair, as well as in the neckline lace. She’s been given lace wristlets….apparently they’d belonged to her namesake. The no midriff here, the shirt is molded to her form and stops around the tops of her thighs, but it’s lace from her belly button down. Capri pants had sides of intricately woven lace, thicker around her pelvis, and her normal boots had been traded for white versions. At the front of the isle her heart  _ stopped _ .    
  
Alexandra Callows stood there in a simple white dress. The sleeves started off her shoulders and rather than a full ballgown, it was an A-Line, and tea length to boot. Her hair was in a loose braid and tossed to the side. She hadn’t been able to fully resist...the dress was a bit more sparkly than the sketch had been. A few emeralds in her hair and a matching string around her neck. Helga can’t figure out when Alex even got her hands on the sketchbook, but suddenly, it was only the strong grip of her mother holding her arm keeping from  _ racing _ down down the isle and taking the woman in her arms. Still,  _ Crucible _ may not even exist for the two women. They can only see each other.    



	17. MEANWHILE!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those that are wondering if this is late due to last minute frantic editing....it is not. I am just a moron with a head cold. Sorry. ALSO! Note for this story since this is the first chapter we see her-Blake in this is black. Does it change the story at all? No. Does it have any bearing on anything? Nope. Why do it? A mix of creative liberties and *I* personally never understood why the Allegory for Racism named 'Black Beautiful Lady' wasn't black. So yes, Blake in this story is black.

Oscar was looking up at the ceiling. One may wonder  _ why _ he was doing such an action, but really it was the only one that made sense. Everyone was out on assignment so he’d allowed FNKI to sweet talk him into training with them. A  _ horrible  _ decision really. Good news about training, he’d figured out how to push through a complete loss of Aura without instantly going down for the count. Bad news. Total Aura drain gave him the  _ world’s  _ **_WORST_ ** headache. He was in too much pain to even curl up onto the ball he wanted to. If anyone somehow figured out he was the keeper and entered to take the lamp from him, he’d be  _ powerless _ to stop them. His  _ bones  _ hurt and his bruises had bruises. He was currently lying in a chair by the bed because he’d hadn’t managed to  _ make  _ it to the bed before collapsing and moaning out his misery for the world to hear. Hey, mature or not, he was a Fourteen year old. He was allowed to be dramatic. 

After the necessary twenty minutes for his body to stop screaming at him for  _ thinking _ about moving, he was able to limp to the shower. According to Neon, Heat was good for overworked muscles. According to Flynt, it was cold. …...in the shower he had gone from freezing to scalding and back again before deciding that they were  _ both _ just trolling him and there was no actual remedy for the pain plaguing him. ‘ _ Hey Oz….what’s good when your body hates you?’ _ He occasionally asked the disembodied should be wise soul that was co-opting his body for advice. It never worked. Oz was hiding somewhere only he knew. Or he was gone….or worse, he was merging, gently overwriting Oscar’s personality until ‘Oscar’ didn’t really exist anymore save as a body double for Ozma. The farmboy shuddered. Would he not notice that he was no longer himself or would he be relegated to the back of his mind trapped and screaming. He’d know when he knew….and that was the worst of it. How did you prepare to not exist? He was apparently on his way, after all James called him ‘Oz’ and he...responded. Oscar bit his lip and forced back tears. He was supposed to be on a farm, with his aunt Em. He hadn’t told her where he was going because he hadn’t known. He was probably going to be killed since he couldn’t fight that well yet. Who was Oz before Ozpin? Did all of his hosts even make it to adulthood? …..did less than a quarter?    
  


“Are you okay?” Oscar jumped back, startled and looked up into two pairs of eyes. Slightly panicked bright gold and soft caring purple. It was then that he noticed that he’d drifted off into his own existential crisis. He blinked, noting that he was on the bed and half dressed but not fully dry. Blake and Yang were softly frowning at him and

“I’m fine. How was the mission?” Blake and Yang shared a look with each other. Oh no. Not that look. That was the same look his  _ parents _ gave him way back when they were still alive. That was the look Clover and Elm shared before babying Marrow. That was the ‘this small child thinks they can think for themselves and I find that adorable’ look!!! “Guys I’m  _ fine _ . I swear!” Another parental look of far too much information being passed between them before Yang-the traitor, opened her mouth. Oscar locked up in anticipation of how she was going to try and ‘fix’ him. He just hoped she wouldn’t be  _ too _ smug about it.    
  
“Ren tried to keep his birthday from us but it’s next month. We were able to strong arm Jaune into telling us his favorite type of snack but it’s this…..weird matcha powder ice cream thing. We were gonna try to make a few before we have to make an actual  _ cake _ out of this weird recipe. Do you want to come be a taste tester?” Blake’s eyes widened in surprise, but she got herself under control relatively quickly.    
  
“Please say yes. I don’t trust Yang’s cooking not to  _ kill  _ me.” The faunus pleaded, ears flat against her head and mouth in a soft pout as if it would in any way, shape, or form influence his decision. He blinked three times, then looked to Yang.

“Okay so you haven’t made it before. Have you ever tried it? Like….do you  _ know _ what it’s supposed to taste like so you know how to alter the recipe?” Again the girls looked at each other before Yang gave the  **_BIGGEST_ ** smile and a cheerful    
  
“NOPE! But comeon, how hard could it be?” 

Those famous last words made Oscar  _ shudder  _ and Blake give him a look of deepest pleading. The farm boy turned hunter knew, he just  _ knew  _ by the look in Blake’s face that he had to go help…….he also knew that Ren’s birthday wasn’t for another  _ three  _ months. He also knew that Ren liked Matcha flavored mochi and had some on hand at all times, though he never brought it for himself as sweets were a ‘waste’ of his money. Yang was trying to make mochi just because, and it wasn’t whatever they’d come into his room for, but he was upset. He followed after the boisterous blonde he’d seen through and caught Blake’s subtle smile. She too knew that there was no way he’d forget Ren’s birthday. Should’ve gone with Nora.  _ no one  _ knew Nora’s birthday….including Nora probably. But still, he allowed Yang to pull him away from his problems for a bit, Blake’s smile was strained and he’d most likely been conscripted to help with her until Ruby got back. Helping others to help yourself. He could get behind that. 

Yang trying to make Mochi went…...as expected…..that was to say,  _ horribly _ . It wasn’t that she was a bad cook  _ persay _ . Just That, well, she was best with dishes she already knew, recipes passed down from her father, uncle, or Step-Mother. She didn’t need the recipe to create old and familiar favorites, the motions were known so well she could create a stellar mac and cheese blindfolded. If she had grown up with the food to know what it tasted like, she transfigured into some sort of cooking goddess as she entered the kitchen. That was again,  _ if,  _ she knew the recipe for whatever thing she’d loved as a kid.    
  
Yang not only didn’t eat mochi growing up, Summer had never surreptitiously taught it to her to get away with ‘Well  _ I  _ didn’t make it now did I’ whenever there was a diet that had to be cheated on. Yang hadn’t eaten it before Ren had given her some on a mission last week. She couldn’t figure out how the waxy outside didn’t melt, nor was she too hyped about it. Yang absolutely  _ HATED  _ the treat, spitting it out as soon as she’d taken her bite and loudly complaining about the taste. This of course meant that she tried to ‘improve’ on it…..without knowing what it was…...or how to make it…...or how it was supposed to taste. ………..   
  
“I’ll trade you. Your Uncle’s whereabouts for…. me distracting the general so you can run after he sees what you’ve done to the kitchen.” The kids all jumped at the warmly jovial voice that broke the plateau of them staring at what had  _ formerly  _ been a pristine mess hall kitchen. 

“Hey Clover” Yang waved, apparently unbothered by the room and herself all covered in sticky green paste. “Hey Rubes. Finish the mission?”  _ Ruby  _ at least was able to stay on track    
  
“WHAT DID YOU DOOOO!!!!!!” Ruby demanded, seeing her sister’s condition. As well as the only  _ slightly _ cleaner Blake, surreptitiously licking her hand and cleaning her face that way. Oscar was the clean _ est _ and only his skin, by the side eye he was giving Blake he’d used up all the towels when she tried to help. The girl just _ really  _ didn’t like being dirty. Weiss had caught her doing it once after a particularly hard practice…... _ strangely  _ it hadn't tipped anyone off to the fact that she was a faunus.    
  
“So….Can’t find Qrow?” She switched her attention to the party  _ not  _ currently freaking out. “I’m sure with your  _ luck _ he’ll turn up” And she tossed a pair of finger guns. Clover, used to making his own terrible puns, just shot a pair back at her “But I haven’t seen him since I got back from my mission. Which was before you guys got back from supply run, so...he’ll turn up. We’re gonna make a Matcha Mochi cake for Ren’s big day! Wanna help?” Clover raised an eyebrow before taking a finger and swiping some of the gunk off of Yang’s face before popping it in his mouth.    
  
“In my experience. It’s supposed to be less sweet...and less bold. A _ subtle _ taste. Think more pound cake and take out the raisins.” He winked at her as her face fell. “Sorry. This isn’t some five layer caramel surprise. Good luck though”. He wasn’t worried about Qrow, the older man  **_HATED_ ** paperwork. He was probably just avoiding the world until he was sure it was all done. He’d be the one to fully charge guns blazing a seemingly endless swarm of nevermores. But  _ paperwork?  _ He ran and hid. It was as adorable as it was endearing. In fact, he found most everything the other man did as adorably endearing, when he wasn’t being impressive or breathtaking….breathtakingly impressive.   
  
“Are you  _ drooling? _ ” It was only his common sense  _ and maybe a lil of his luck _ that kept him from checking and proving Yang’s teasing point. 

“Ha-ha. Very funny. I’m going off to do the big scary mission report so when you see him, tell him he’s successfully avoided that  _ particular _ duty, but he owes me.” Yang gave him a cheeky two finger salute and conscripted Ruby to help with the mess. Good kids. Clover meanwhile, was telling the truth, and went to Ironwood to fill out proper paperwork. 

* * *

  
  


An hour. An hour and...Clover checked his watch, forty five minutes. .Qrow may not have been _right_ to run away from his duties…..but he did have his _points_. The paperwork included any and all incident reports as well as double checking that the proper supplies had been retrieved from the exact spot it was supposed to be missing from and also checking that there were no unauthorized punch ins by writing down the name and employee number of everyone that had been present at the site. Even with only fifty people working, manually pulling up and triple checking all of their records was…..  
  
“Go.” James said, smirk pulling at his features as he watched his best operative watch the window.   
  
“Um...sir?” Clover’s eyes widened and he looked up from dutifully copying identification numbers for the general sitting in the chair in front of him.  


“Qrow has managed to have the same unfortunate effect on six people at different times during his life, myself included. It’s going to be absolutely impossible to get anything done when all you can think about is spending time with him.” James shook his head as the reluctant smile pulled at his lips. “Poor Summer walked into a  _ wall _ once. Not that Taiyang fared much better” He chuckled. “Remind me to tell you how Raven had to win a battle at Vytal all by herself because the rest of STRQ was being useless. For now, go find where he’s flown off too.”    
  
“Thank you sir.” Clover saluted and jogged out the room, mind full of the reluctant smile pried from a face lined with concern for the entire world. James shook his head with his own small smile.    
  
He couldn’t help himself from flicking open his wallet. Pictures of past paramores, among them Arthur, Glynda, Qrow himself…...his gaze grew colder. Glynda he’d failed to protect. … same as Arthur. Luckily his failure hadn’t ended in her death. But...he shook his head. He’d known that Clover and Qrow would get along well, it wasn’t constantly on the verge of a fight with those two. Lonely at the top. Ozpin had said that once. The only one that had managed otherwise was Leo but… James shook his head, dragging himself from too sentimental memories to finish the work he’d relieved the young Captain of.    
  


* * *

Two hours passed and Clover’s usually reliable luck had turned sour. The most likely explanation for this was that, wherever Qrow  _ was,  _ he actually wanted to be found, resulting in his own bad luck activating to make sure he _ couldn’t _ be found. ….. Or something embarrassing had happened and he was hiding in his rooms which, to be fair, knocking wasn’t getting an answer. The last time that had happened his bird forn had miscalculated the wind and he hit a gumtree. Even turning back into a human, he’d been sticky and impossible to touch with wild hair and spent all his time scrubbing, refusing to come out until he was finally clean. Though, he usually at least gave a grumbled ‘No, you can’t make me’. It must have been something  _ extremely  _ embarrassing. Maybe Nora accidentally zapped his feathers and his hair was a mess. Clover chuckled with the thought. 

  
  


As he knocked again the door popped open. He wasn’t sure if it was his good luck at wanting to see Qrow or if the man’s bad luck had broken the lock...again. It wasn’t the first time he’d gone into the elder hunter’s room. The man was notoriously hard to wake up in time for mission briefs. That being said, it didn’t often feel….like... _ this. _ Clover blinked in the too thick air. Every hair on his body, from his head to his legs, was standing on end, as if there was electricity running through him. 

His luck was odd. Passive. He got a pull from an alley and if he followed he just happened to be in the right place at the right time, his eyes were drawn and if he ordered it was the best thing off the menu in a new restaurant, went walking and ended up with a great find if he just listened. He’d never had a truly  _ bad _ day in his life. At the minor passive level he could find money on the ground, produce an umbrella when it rained, he had a bad feeling and didn’t walk into ambushes or Grimm attacks. At that was at  _ passive.  _ He could focus his luck, make an impossible shot, the Grimm he was fighting  _ just _ missed him, rainy days turned into rainbows. It led to a very boring sort of life full of insecurity. Of  _ course _ he was top of his class. James Ironwood had had no  _ choice _ but to look in his direction. And it didn’t matter how nice or charming he was because every guy was swooning anyways. He trained as hard as he could and tried not to activate his semblance unless he  _ really  _ needed to. He still felt…. Well… That all changed when the bad luck charm known as Qrow Branwen crossed his path like the black cat he’d always been looking for. He could  _ feel _ the pushback, the swirling of their semblances, the dance the two made just sitting next to each other, a mad show of power, a teasing banter. Qrow had given  _ him  _ a taste of bad luck. And it was  _ intoxicating _ . It didn’t hurt that everything  _ else _ about the man was just as wonderful. The way he fought, the kindness in his eyes, how he always tried to be the best person he could be, the way he loved his nieces, the compassion he showed for others. It was in his fragile nature, the glass shards he’d built around himself to ward others from him. Yes, it was just his immense luck that Qrown was  _ perfect.  _ ….it was the other man’s own luck that he couldn’t  _ see _ how perfect he was. Clover sighed as he looked around the room, still feeling.    
  
He’d never had bad luck before meeting Qrow. Even then, his ‘bad luck’ would easily be fixed. Miss a target? Hit it next time and practice so that it wouldn’t happen again. Get caught in freezing rain? He could find an upside. That upside being Qrow’s pout. Clover was getting used to the feeling of bad luck. At least, semblance caused bad luck. This was…. _ familiarly different _ . His own semblance didn’t much like Qrow’s. Qrow himself had called the feeling of Clover’s semblance on his own a balm. Just like Qrow’s semblance to Clover was a thorn. An uneasy ‘ _ not right _ ’ form of anticipation for something he wasn’t supposed to let happen. Right now, there was a thick blanket of anxiety over the entirety of the room. Something was off. Something was  _ bad _ . Not normal bad either. ….but….he also felt  _ himself _ . The best possible solution. Something important was inside the room. Something was  _ wrong _ . …. He cared too much about Qrow to actually listen to his own semblance screaming at him to leave. Instead, sea foam eyes narrowed into slits as he carefully examined the room to find what  **bad thing** was out of place as he tried to use his fighting semblance to find the important  _ good thing _ .    
  
The bed was clear. He hovered a hand over it with uncertainty, but Qrow’s bad luck wasn’t affecting it that badly. The spare jacket on the door? No… Qrow didn’t have very many personal effects, and it was impossible to use his semblance passively while  _ whatever _ was in the room. Though he recognized his firm unwillingness to go was a part of his own semblance and switched to active rather than passive. Focusing on his badge and tapping it to release a burst of good luck. At once he opened Qrow’s nightstand to see the wallet he’d forgotten. Huh. Why the bad feelings? Maybe the room wanted to fall in on itself or something. He grabbed the wallet that Qrow often forgot on purpose, his aura shattering at the touch. Temporary  _ amazing  _ luck vrs bad luck that sank into his very space. It was always a losing battle. Clover pocketed the ‘this will be important later’ wallet and as he did he saw….was...that... _ silver? _ His fingers brushed the worn silver, Qrow’s fingerprints practically warped into the tarnished metal. Qrow what was going on? Clover delicately picked up the flask…….and sneezed. He shook it, confirming that it was in fact full of liquid. A shill ran up his spine. He opened it and sniffed…..   
  
It didn’t matter what it smelled like. Clover wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway. The contents of the flask spilled out as the world around him spun into madness. He managed to get out the room and into the hallway, lights giving him a near seizure.    
  
“Sir!?” Oh that was Penny’s voice. Hi Penny. Oh wow. Standing was suddenly far too difficult and it was better floor right. Yes, Floor good. Floor didn’t have Penny screaming about….sicknesses? Wait  _ sick _ ? Hahahahahahaha Oh…..oh  _ this _ was what sickness felt like-burning and freezing at the same time...ah…...he didn’t think he liked being sick. Something  _ bad _ was connected to that flask. But he let himself fall into the arms of the automaton, clutching closely the ‘something good’ wallet.


	18. An Ordinary day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is this late you may wonder? Cause a Grown ass woman is still grounded, and YES I'm upset about it. Please enjoy this late chapter.

Something was wrong. Oscar noticed it at once as he came too, stretching leisurely. Atlas had good beds. It was something he’d noticed before, but….no, he hadn’t been able to notice it before. Because waking up was usually….well, bad. It was Jaune freaking out about where he’d left his shoes or,  _ worse _ his weapon. It was Ren trying to shush an overly boisterous Nora. It was the bed he was in  _ shaking  _ along with the rest of the room as everyone tried and failed to find their heads as they had to be ready for their assignments an hour before he had to be to class. This was the  _ quietest _ morning ever. He got up and let his feet hit the ground as he rose to look on the dresser and…. _ oh _ . It was a silly thing to be upset about in the long run, but Ren usually left him a plate of the pancakes he’d managed to rescue from Nora. Oh well. They must have been busy this morning…..and…. _ quiet? _ Oscar looked behind him to the beds. Ren always insisted they make their beds with hospital corners before they leave…...and then made all the beds himself while Oscar was in the shower and Jaune and Nora were eating. He was stunned when he saw….three sets of hospital corners. They hadn’t come back to bed last night. Weird _.  _   
  
Then his brain began to work. It wasn’t used to sluggishly crawling awake. On the farm it had been aunt Em rapping at his door to drag him up for his chores. Then it was Ozpin, the world’s WORST alarm and one without a snooze button. Then Qrow’s shouting, then JNR and their inability not to create a commotion. Huh. Waking up of his own volition was so weird he knew something was wrong before he was all the way up. But JNR hadn't come back last night. That meant…..that he owed Yang twenty Lein. Aw man. Did Jaune man up or had they both noticed and given up to Nora. If Ren was the one that stepped up he’d only have to pay Yang five Lein and Blake would be giving him ten. 

  
  


Oscar chuckled as he packed his schoolbag, plus the relic of course. It wasn’t allowed to be in the room without anyone guarding it. A quick shower, no pancakes, but he grabbed a nutrition bar that Ren usually kept for himself. The three would probably have a lazy day breakfast of pancakes. But...he made his bed like Ren would want. If they came back while he was out he didn’t need or want the lecture. As he was leaving the room, his scroll went up.   
  
“Hey Yang!”  
  
_“Oscar, HEY! Nora, Jaune and Ren didn’t show up for assignment. Did they sleep in?”_ He chuckled.   
  
“Oh they _probably_ slept in…..they weren't in the _room_ last night.” He grinned at the fact that he heard her squeal, followed immediately by several ‘what happened’s and a scramble for her scroll   
  
_“TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!!”_ Ruby screeched into the scroll. “ _WHO FINALLY BROKE! WERE THERE HAPPY TEARS! HOW LONG WAS THE HUG! HEY!”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Sorry. She has a lot of cookies tied up with Flynt. Did you know he apparently makes wonderful ones?”_ Weiss’s voice was calm, controlled. If he didn’t actually _know_ her he could make the mistake of thinking that she wasn’t as invested in the ending as she was. Weiss had an even greater motivation than wealth riding on the outcome-a smug feeling of superiority. Can’t get any better than that. “ _Anyway, how_ are _the happy lovebirds? Or I suppose we have to track them down later for the story?”_ Oscar chuckled again.   
  
“They room with me. They can’t escape me. Don’t worry. I’ll get all the details for you. How goes it with the _other_ oblivious ones?” He asked. The sign Weiss gave could have powered all of Mantle with wind energy.  
  
 _“Prolonged exposure to Qrow’s bad luck topped Clover’s good luck. He’s sick. As Uncle Qrow’s_ also _missing, it’s safe to say Clover’s got the_ happiest nursemaid _of all.”_ Oscar snorted again at Yang’s words. 

“ _ Can we please just  _ **FOCUS** ” Hare’s voice…..were they on speaker? Or was she that loud? “ _ Blondie, you’re taking other Blondie’s shift with the kids. Ears you’re walking the wall until you get your precious details _ .” Speaker. Definitely speaker. Must have been Weiss.    
  
“Maybe it happened exactly how Blake wrote it.” Oscar said gibbly. There was the sound of a ‘strangled cat’ on the other side of the line and Oscar could practically  _ feel _ the heat from her blush. It was a very  _ terribly kept secret  _ that Blake wrote friend fiction. It didn’t matter how well she tried to hide it, she was a good writer and her audience was determined to find it.   
  
“ _ Do you have one about the Captain and the Crow? _ ” Elm managed to sound both intrigued and uninterested at the same time. Oscar hummed, knowing full well that Blake had  _ three _ . 

“ _ GIMMIE THAT SCROLL! THIS IS INSUBORDINATION! I ASKED YOU TO FIND THEM NOT GOSSIP!!! _ ” A few more sounds, then the signal abruptly cut itself off. Oh well.He had class anyway.    
  


* * *

“Is Mister Jaune OK?” Yang smiled widely at the little kid. The first few had been too afraid of her to say much of anything as she’d guided them across. But  _ this _ was a group of seven. And the voted upon leader, a little girl with mahogany skin under a too puffy soft green coat and ebony hair in ringlets, had been volunteered to actually talk to her.    
  
“ _ What _ ?” She acted shocked. “Mr. Jaune has to be not okay for him to have a lil break?” The girl blinked up at her with bright red eyes, trying to comprehend that idea. “Something really good happened to him. So he’s taking the day to relax and enjoy it.” The kids all nodded at that, understanding lighting up their features before…   
  
“Does it have to do with the Wall?” A redheaded little boy asked, pale skin plastered with enough freckles to almost look tanned. “He looks at it and gets all smiley” The child continued, green eyes shining like miniature suns. Yang couldn’t help her own smile as she knelt down and picked up the kid. He startled a little, but calmed as she rested him on her shoulder.    
  
“Secret from me to you” She turned her head to ‘ _ whisper _ ’ to her charge. “I think it has less to do with the wall as the two _ really pretty _ people that guard it. They’re missing too.” Embarrassing Vomit Boy was always worth it, but it was  _ extra _ worth it seeing the eyes of the little boy turn as wide as dinner plates, in hearing the ooohhhs and aaahhhhs from her little audience.    
  
There were some disappointed sounds tittering from the group of young mothers that had been just as put out as some of the kids that Jaune wasn’t there. Well, she couldn’t have  _ that _ now could she? Yang flipped her hair, gave a winning smile and flexed her other arm. “You’ve still got  _ me _ ta keep ya company ladies” She said with a wink. The result was instant. A sharp gasp ran through the women. One of them jumped and hid her face behind her hands. Two looked away. All five were blushing. Blushes which only grew worse as the bombshell gave the group a once over before  _ another _ wink.  _ That _ time she was sure she heard a squeak.    
  
A flexing arm with a kid on her shoulder wasn’t the best of ideas when there were six others watching you. A reptile Faunus with scaled freckles ran up to her flexed arm and jumped on with a grin. Before their mother could stop them Yang let out a hearty chuckle and transferred them to her back. “WHO WANTS A RIDE TO SCHOOL!!!” The five other children cheered as they ran to her. It was short work. One on her shoulders; legs on either side of her neck, one on her back, legs wrapped around her waist. The dear red headed little boy, who’s name she learned was Fyre, stayed on her left shoulder, while her ‘cool robot arm’ stayed out, allowing Loki, the fearless leader, and her brother Frigg, to swing on it. A giggling child in a long skirt held tightly to Yang’s right leg and rode on it like the world’s most awkward Ferris wheel. The last child opted to swing too, on the human arm stabilizing Fyre. “WE READY GUYS!” She chuckled as the children cheered her on. 

“You’re….so  _ good _ with children!” One of the moms, a brunette smiled widely.    
  


“I love kids” Yang answered honestly. “Raised my little sister while my dad dealt with depression. Besides,” and she pumped her robot arm a few times, making Loki and Frigg squeal with glee, “These tykes are easy to please” With that she turned and let the kids hang off of her the whole way to the school gates. 

Needless to say she was  _ popular _ . So popular in fact, that there were  _ three _ anxious looking women with covered dishes when she walked the kids back to their parents at the end of the schoolday.    
  
“H- _ HI _ ”.... She was pegging the lady as Simon’s mom-forked tongue kinda gave it away. She could be wrong. “Carmen. Carmen Lyttee. I um….you probably need to keep up your strength. Huntressing and all” The dish was pushed at her as Simon hid his head in his hands. “Sweet Potato casserole” Yang blinked in surprise, but let a charming grin slide across her face.    
  
“Here’s hoping it’s as sweet as you.” She winked and caused the poor woman to start hyperventilating. Yang bowed her head, partly to hide her smirk, and accepted the dish even as another was pushed in front of her.    
  
“Traditional Mantle Potato Salad! For letting Fyre ride your shoulders. The woman had the same blazing hair. “Cole. Um…. _ I  _ am. That’s my name. Hope it keeps you warm!”    
  
“I’m sure it’ll warm my  _ heart,  _ Miss Cole” Yang’s grin got even wider.    


“AMBROSIA SALAD!” Miss Glaseras-mother to Loki and Frigg, was too flustered to even offer a first name, face bright red as soon as lavender eyes settled on her. Yang gave a wink in appreciation.   
  
“Will you be here Monday?” Cole asked, a _touch_ too excited.   
  
“Monday your _favorite_ blonde should be back. Which _sucks,_ I was having fun…” Her eyes blatantly checked them out “Getting to know you all” There were swoons as she gave a two fingered salute and walked away, balancing the three casserole dishes in one hand.   
  
Ruby had gotten the mildly easier task of helping Marrow and Hare clean out a cave. Easier in that she could actually _do_ something. If she wasn’t staying active by talking with Penny she drifted off. Watching Clover flirt with Uncle Qrow had significantly less appeal when you remembered that adults were _boring_ and they flirted super slowly. Like, where was the subtle looking and looking away at the last second? The giggling, the _FOOTSIES!!!!!!_. Nope. Just cards and talking and leaning a little closer and LOTS of blushing. Even after a while the blushing lost its appeal. They were boring adults. _Boring_. Wake her up for the shy kissing and stumbling over confessions as they both tried to be the one to say it first.   
  
She got back a little before her sister and was scowling at the fridge. She’d missed lunch cause she was out, Jaune let Nora vacuum inhale the casseroles, so no leftovers, and she wasn’t allowed to cook by proxy of being related to Yang and the tortures the blonde had spread just yesterday. She sighed, getting in her mind that it would be a long, boring, and hungry wait until dinner was ready, whining miserably at the fact that she’d never hung out with FNKI and so didn’t know any good food spots in Mantle. She’d go to Clover’s room to bother Qrow, but her uncle deserved to be happy, even if it _was_ just playing cards and talking with a sick man. Besides, Clover deserved it too. According to Penny, Qrow’s semblance had snapped so hard it actually started _eating_ Clover. No one knew what that meant other than Clover was in bed taking aura supplement pills until his own was strong enough to actually heal him.   
  
“HEY-O!!!” Ruby startled from her compilation of old people in love as Yang _kicked_ down the door to the mess hall. “WHO WANTS LATE LUNCH!!!!” When she was little she used to think Yang had a super special secret power of knowing exactly what she needed, exactly _when_ she needed it. Super punches and sometimes turning into fire based on how much kinetic energy she’d absorbed with each hit be dammed, her secret super power was **_STILL_** popping up just when needed.   
  
“YOU GOT FOOD!!!” Ruby was on top of the table instantly, craning her neck as Yang brought three whole casserole pans of stuff to eat!!! And, what’s more, it all smelled _amazing._  
  
“Sorry. This food is reserved for someone that knows who I am. Can I get a….” The blonde trailed off free hand cupping her ear in order to best hear…   
  
“YOU YANG XIAO LONG, The dragon of Patch, defender of cookies, princess of pummelling and Best in class at badassery, are the GREATEST SISTER IN THE HISTORY OF REMNANT” Her stomach growled loudly at that and Ruby made puppy dog eyes. Yang pretended to deliberate for a moment. They did this a lot. Like…. _every time_ Yang brought Ruby a gift, expected or not. …..Yang hadn’t thought to bring anything in a while. Too busy feeling sorry for herself. She’d realized that a while ago, and couldn’t believe her _luck_ when it was a sweet potato casserole. She hadn’t made any of Ruby’s favorites in awhile either. When she was allowed in the kitchen again she’d remedy that situation.  
  
“ _Miss_ Carmen Lyyte sends her regards.” Yang grinned widely as Ruby’s expression fell into a flat glare. “WHAT!” Yang demanded at # _thelook._ “All I did was say hi” Ruby’s brow raised. “And flip my hair.” The pout got worse. “Okay I _may_ have carried seven kids at once no big deal while smirking.” Ruby’s arms crossed “......and flexing”  
  
“When will you learn that your actions have consequences?” Ruby asked, shaking her head. “Jaune _didn’t_ encourage them and he still got _SUPER_ uncomfy with all the pokes and prods.” Yang snorted, putting the tins down and waltzing over to grab the necessary objects for eating.   
  
“Jaune’s a weakling” She said with a grin. “They’re _gorgeous_ and actually really sweet. They don’t know how to _function_ with someone that knows how to-”  
  
“Before you finish that train of thought. Little sister……. ** _EATING_** ” Ruby scowled as she served herself a HEALTHY portion of sweet potatoes. Yang, who was an older sister first and foremost…..so a _traitor_ , gave her some soup and ambrosia salad while pushing the plate full of potatoes away.   
  
“I was _just_ gonna say ‘Flirt’” She grinned. Because second to all things, Yang was a troll. Thirdly she was a filthy liar. Ruby had seen the glint in her eyes!!! “Besides, they’re all so heartbroken Jauny Boy finally broke and confessed! Wouldn’t want a _Grimm_ to get attracted to broken hearts now would we?” Ruby sighed.   
  
“I _still_ say that Nora strong armed them cause she lost her patience. Any word from Oscar yet?” Ruby asked. Nora was a popular choice so she wouldn’t win _that_ much but still, smug satisfaction!!!   
  
“Urrrrrgggghhhh” The sisters turned their attention to Weiss. Whom was coming back from patrolling the outer perimeter with Elm. “The next time those three go decide to be lovebirds, I’m calling the not bigger Nora.” Yang scoffed.   
  
“She’s not THAT bad!!!” She protested. Elm was kinda cool. By the glare Weiss sent her, the white haired girl didn’t agree. “Oh come ON!!!! You deal with me and Nora all the time she couldn’t have been _that a_ wful”   
  
“I know you.” Weiss pointed out. “I enjoy you as a person and your company. I’ve learned to deal with you.” She went and got herself a bowl and spoon. “I can anticipate you. Just like how I know you’re going to ask me to do something ridiculous before you allow me to have some salads.” Yang opened her mouth for Weiss to proactively answer with “I smelled it. Simple ‘peasant’ food, but Kline always snuck some up to me when I was sick...it was the only thing that worked.” The sisters nodded….then _Ruby_ opened her mouth for Weiss to counter. “I _never_ deal with Nora unless she has a buffer and Ruby, I _don’t_ deal with you when you’re high on sugar. I leave the room, remember.” Yang couldn’t help to snicker at the crestfallen face of acceptance her little sister was sporting.   
  
“No wonder Ren and Nora doubled up on a single person job” Blake muttered as she came in. “It’s so boring up on the wall.” Her three teammates looked up….then did a double take. She had….double ears. Her _actual_ ears...and nestled behind them….Neon’s headphones. She blinked at the looks she was getting. “I lost a _bet_ okay? I know they look ridiculous”.   
  
“NOOOO!!!!” Ruby protested. “They aren’t! They make you look all cute and they soften you and make you seem WAY less serious!!!!” Blake blushed and shrank back slightly from Ruby’s insistence, taking a look to the others.   
  
“Really? Weiss what do you think?” Weiss had stolen a bowl of Mantle potato salad while Yang was staring transfixed. She gave Blake a thumbs up as she started eating. “Yang?” The blonde had a half smile on her face, looking at Blake’s ears bob slightly to the music provided by a pure white backdrop that made them pop even more. And her blush. And her little smile. And. “Yang?” Blake asked again, causing her to blink rapidly. Wow, staring at her in shock….and _hers_ was the opinion that mattered the most. “I know I look stupid just….three more hours and Neon’s gonna come get them back.   
  
“NO! I mean ummmm. You look” Blake leaned forward slightly, ears prinking. “I mean...um…..I GOT FOOD!” Yang thrust the fork in her hand so harshly the food almost fell off of it. “Yeah. You...hungry so….food?” Yang then instantly turned back to her plate to dig in with gusto. It was so that Blake didn’t see how red her face had become, but Blake deduced she was just….. _really_ hungry as she accepted and got a bowl. 

* * *

The next morning was...just as wrong as the previous one. Oscar grumbled as he slowly came too, an insistent buzzing woke him up. Was Nora texting Neon this early? Actually, he didn’t put it _past_ Neon to want to know every detail. Especially since he wasn’t able to keep his promise. He didn’t _know_ any of the details. Someone had decided (Ren most likely) to wait until homework made him bored enough to ignore it and crawl into bed to sleep. He had them NOW! Slowly, as to not alert the texter, he slid out of bed and stood, pointing directly to Nora with an   
  
“AH HAH!!!!” ……...but Nora wasn’t there. _No one_ was there…...the beds all still had hospital corners. The insistent humming wasn’t texting, rather, his scroll vibrating wildly. He padded over to go get it, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. He racked his brain trying to remember…..had there been whispers in the room of people scrambling to avoid him? Had there been any ‘shussh’ing coming from Ren as they snuck in? He’d thought they spent the night at a hotel down in Mantle….they just…..did it again right? His scroll was still going off and he let it time out. ….. It started ringing again directly afterwards. He held his breath as he answered.   
  
“Oscar?” Her voice was slightly shattered sounding, as if she were managing through great will of effort to hold back tears. It made sense...that it was her. She _was_ the best at handling herself.   
  
“Weiss?” It hurt to acknowledge her...mostly because he already knew what she was going to ask…..confirming things made them more real…..He didn’t want _this_ to bea real. Atlas was supposed to be safe.  
  
“Winter.” The woman on the other end of the line corrected. That wasn’t good. At **_ALL_**. Weiss sounding like she was holding back tears was bad enough, but _WINTER_. “Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren are still missing aren’t they?” His breathing got heavier as the world zeroed into the voice on the phone. He nodded before remembering that she couldn’t see him. She must have gotten the idea from his silence. She plowed on. “Clover had a bad feeling about the fact that no one came to visit him while he was sick. He showed immense surprise and horror upon hearing that the assumption from everyone else was that he and Qrow would not wish to be interrupted….” She paused to let it sink in that Qrow was missing too. “Qrow Branwen was last sighted going to check on the wall after leaving his mission early. We need to ask you to come up to the office of General Ironwood.” His body was numb, mind in another dimension. He didn’t even _register_ that he was moving, let alone the fact that he was sprinting as quickly as he could

* * *

They had to wait until Monday to start...after 45 hours since the last confirmed point of contact for Qrow. A body was found Saturday morning, barely after briefing and so the weekend is lost to calming a panicked populace before the Grimm can notice. On Monday-93 hours since the disappearance, Hare accompanies Yang on her school guard duty as to make sure Yang can act as she normally does. It was supposed to be a big, bright,  _ blonde _ distraction to draw attention away from Hare surreptitiously getting information. Unfortunately, James had set the assignment without registering that Yang may be distraught because of the disappearance of her Uncle, not nearly as bright or happy. It ended up being a role reversal. Hare distracting the (thankfully  _ easily  _ distractible) moms while Yang asked the kids if Mr. Jaune had seemed any different on Thursday. Luckily, Jaune had seemed okay. It would have been a much bigger cause to worry if all four were targeted one right after the other. If the four of them went missing at the same time, it may have been an opportunity thing. That still didn’t explain where they were. The dust project was halted for a spell, Ironwood pouring everyone into any hope of finding the missing four, adamant that it was of the greatest importance they were retrieved.. Yang stayed on crossing guard duty. Blake and Elm guarded the wall. Everyone else was given heat guns to try and melt enough of the snow and ice outside the wall to find a hint. Everyday they stepped just a little bit farther away, a small ever growing circle……..   
  
They found a scroll after being out there searching for almost two weeks. The scroll was….in  _ bad _ shape. It had water damage from the snow melting around it and frost damage from being in a block of ice anyway. It was horribly scuffed up, as if it had been in a fight, screen cracked. The only hope was that it was the  _ only _ scroll found. Perhaps? It had to be restored. For two days Atlas scientists worked to save the piece of broken tech enough so that the data on the hard drive could be recovered. It worked. The scroll,  _ Ren’s  _ scroll as it turned out, crackled to life as it was charged with just one message...from Nora of all people.    
  


**_“Taken by Tyrian”_ **


	19. Tensions rise like the tide

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang all filed into the office of the general. Winter and Penny stood stiffly behind his desk, exchanging worried glances. Oscar came up with Elm. They had started putting checks on him and the relic to make sure he wasn’t alone. With Tyrian apparently on the loose, it wasn’t safe for him. Tyrian was probably trying to steal the relic and was on his way back. To that effect, Oscar got escorted to his room at night and to class in the mornings. A member of team FNKI accompanied him anywhere he needed to be in the school itself. He stood holding back tears as he was transferred from Elm’s hand on his shoulder to Ruby’s hug. She saluted and left, presumably back to Clover’s side. His luck was acting up lately, going wildy out of control from the impossibility of his wants and the residual bad luck still poisoning his system.   
  
He wasn’t anywhere  _ near _ as close to Jaune, Nora and Ren as they were….and definitely not as close to Qrow. But it  **_mattered_ ** . He’d been ripped away from his aunt and sent on an impossible mission and everyone had opened their arms for him and now they were  **_GONE_ ** . And what’s more, worse than simply dead and gone, they’d been stolen by Salem’s pet psychopath if the stories were right. They couldn’t have the decency to kill them. She was probably slowly torturing them for information they didn’t have. This had to stop…..there  _ had  _ to be some way to stop her, even if there was no way to destroy her.    
  
Everyone stood at attention as James entered the room. He had in his hand a small computer and walked over to the dest before placing it down. The air was tense and quiet enough that you could hear a  _ pin _ drop to the ground as General Ironwood approached the middle of the floor.    
  
“A few weeks ago during or after routine assignments, Qrow Branwen, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren vanished. We know the culprit. This man” A button on the laptop was pressed and Tyrian’s mugshot was projected in a holographic display. “Tyrian Callows. Known associate to Salem herself based on the information provided to us by one Ruby Rose” He nodded to her. “Tyrian has committed several heinous crimes all across Remnant. He’s never been captured….not unless he wants to be.” A button pressed, a scared looking Tyrian, he couldn’t have been older than twelve and dressed in filthy rags. “First arrest for aggravated assault and larceny, the small Mistral city of Satzunari. Age eleven. He made it to the prison….. The following picture is directly after central booking” the button was pressed, and it was that same little boy. He’d allowed them to give him a shower it looked like, and to change him into prison clothes…..clothes that were already covered in blood. His tail was wrapped around the throat of one officer, while the stinger itself was  _ in _ the throat of another guard. His left hand was holding tightly the gun that had been pointed at him, twisting it, presumably, away. His right leg and arm were being used to prop up the still bleeding body that he was using as a meat shield against the officer to the right, one shooting frantically with tears in her eyes. His eyes were manic, matching the sickening grin “He managed to kill  _ everyone _ in that precinct, trained officers….trained  _ huntsmen _ . Under cover of night he propped the heads up outside of the addresses on their identifications. The village is currently  _ gone _ . Tyrian’s actions brought about a massive outpouring of Grimm in the misery of the day. By that night, nothing remained.”

Everyone was quiet, trying to think of the fact that he’d been probably  **_born_ ** a merciless monster.    
  
“But….he  _ didn’t  _ kill them. He took them….” Ruby’s voice was soft. “ _ Taken _ by Tyrian. That’s what Nora’s message said….what does he want with them?” James looked at the redhead as she spoke, face hardened. He took a deep sigh and Winter bit her lip, but schooled her face back into indifference relatively quickly.    
  
“A good question. My first thought was that someone must have informed him about the relic and he undoubtedly assumed said Relic was being held with Qrow. But Qrow wasn’t the only one taken and based on the ambush pattern, he was trying to attack the wall, most likely Ren since that was the scroll found. The others may have been taken in order to have Ren go willingly. What I’m wondering is why he assumed Ren was important….if that was in fact the target.”    
  
“I think Jaune was the target,” Ruby said softly. Every eye in the room was focused on the young team lead. “When we first met him...Tyrian...when he ambushed us…..he landed on  _ Jaune _ …..he called him interesting….” Her voice trembled. “Jaune would go along with anything to keep Ren and Nora from being hurt. After P…” Her voice chokes off, but Penny looks to the side in equal parts sympathy and shame. “He doesn’t want anyone else on his team to get hurt.” James hummed. 

“Whoever was the target, they were smarter than Tyrian.” James said as he pressed a few buttons and the screen changed to a map. “We have the last spot Nora’s scroll was before it got too far and went offline. The spot the last text was sent from. Team RWBY, you’re going undercover as Shade transfer students.”   
  
“Undercover!” Yang shook her head. “Uncle Qrow is missing! We should be going to find Tyrian and give him a knuckle sandwich till he coughs up where he hid everyone!” Ironwood rolled his eyes.   
  
“While that’s noble. Vacuo’s a bit of a different animal. I can’t just send you to Theo and let him handle everything behind the scenes like I do here. There _are_ no behind the scenes. There’s no movie at all. Everything’s backwards and upside down. Your best bet to find Tyrian is to keep your ear to the ground in the only place that has even half a clue as to what’s going on. You’re going undercover to Shade as transfer students. Trust me, that’s the only way to gain any information. A ship has been provided with the proper autopilot. I’ll warn you not to veer off course. You don’t want to be unprotected in Vacuo, and Shade’s the best protection they have. Sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be able to catch Tyrian.” RWBY looked at each other, then the girls all nodded and turned to leave. “Take him to his room please? With the recent murders in Mantle I don’t want him leaving if he can help it. We can bring you food and homework, but you and the relic are safer in a hallway lined with cameras.” Oscar nodded as they all left, but he couldn’t help but notice how _worried_ Winter looked.  
  
James sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Sir?” Penny’s voice was still bright, the robot tilting her head as she scanned his biometrics. Overheating on his robotic half. She absently activated the cooling system in his office...but...his human half was experiencing slight tremors. Winter on the other hand was _too_ cold, flushing at something. “What’s wrong?” James sighed and sat in his chair to produce a stationary set and started writing.   
  
“With team JNR and RWBY missing, I have to restructure the visibility of the Huntsmen so that a panic isn’t caused. Not to mention, I need someone that can keep Robyn Hill off of our backs. Her Nephew is our best best for that.” Winter went colder as her spine straightened in mild terror.   
  
“Sir, you can’t _possibly_ think to put such a reckless team on such an important mission!!!” His face didn’t change. “SIR!” Winter protested as he didn’t answer.  
  


“Not alone. FNKI is the most loyal team I have. I’m moving their babysitting duty from Oscar. We put huntsmen in public areas. We need to  _ keep  _ them in the public eye to stop rumors about what may have happened to them. We can just call it a shift change. A  _ reassignment. _ As for Vytal…..if Tyrian is torturing anyone he took for information it is of the  **_UPMOST_ ** importance that the communication hub is finished far before  _ she _ can find out and stop us.” He tore out the letter he was working on. “Penny, deliver this to Flynt Coal so he knows what to expect. Alert the Ace Ops that they have a new mission and return here  **at once** .” She salutes and takes the letter.    
  
“Sir” Winter beseeched him. “Please think this over. They’re still traumatized and they’re an unknown entity” James sighed.    
  
“Is there any member of FNKI strong enough to clear those mines in a team of two?” She looked away. “Are there any members of FNKI that can manage to keep Robyn Hill distracted?” She took a deep breath. “I like it even less that you do, but they have field training and FNKI can watch them and alert me to any mutinous actions. I  _ need _ team CRDL”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Luckily, they were going the wrong way. Air ships tended to travel the same route, east to west. They should have flown over Vale and then into Vacuo, that flight was about 18 hours. But Tyrian had gone this way and so they followed this way….which was against the dateline and though the flight itself was only 10 hours….it was _thirty_ hours technically before they landed. And as it was avoiding populated areas, it tended to avoid most Grimm….though there _were_ a few nests on the map, but no one had updated them. The girls had run right off. After all, most of their things had been lost in the fall of Beacon. It had only occurred to them in the Atlas rooms that Huntsmen were being trained not to have many personnel effects for the inevitably of their death. Still. Weiss rested against the wall, holding a suitcase that was full of dust for their weaponry. Blake’s bag was full of books, ones she’d gotten from her family and her books of fanfiction, friend fiction, and…… _anatomy practice_. A few of those had been left behind too. Elm still had ‘ _Luck is ever changing’_ Yang had grabbed clothes for them, sunglasses, and letters from home. Ruby’s bag was full of weapon repair kits….and the journals of JNR as she was determined to return them. RWBY as a unit had realized that no one knew how to actually pack and just usually assumed that _together_ they’d have the essentials.   
  
“Hand me ‘ _The wings of hope’_ ” Weiss said, starling Blake. “I need something light and fluffy to read” Her mouth drops to make an excuse but  
  
“Ohhhhhhh-‘ _Speed of Love_ ’ was really good, and I never finished it.” Blake lets out another strangled sound. _‘Speed of Love_ ’ was…..was _about_ Ruby. ….and a bit….. _adult_  
  
“I don’t….ummmm….. _wha_? What do you mean? I um, Wha?” Ruby let her stammer for a minute or two before raising an eyebrow.   
  
“Blake, we’re going to be on this flight for forever, please give me the book.” It took Blake getting _extremely_ embarrassed for a blush to show up on her skin, but lo, there it was, turning her raspberry as she reached into her trunk to get her story. She’d started putting them in binders….mostly because it was a _LOT_ more embarrassing people reading through _all_ of the half done stories to find the next chapter of what she was working on.  
  
“Wait _Shade_! We can get SSSN!” Blake said suddenly, head perking up as she handed Ruby the requested book. Yang’s face fell slightly but she looked away. Oh yeah…..Blake and Sun had a…..a thing. She’d been there for the end of Adam…..he’d helped save her family’s life. Not really comparable.   
  
“You’ll be really happy to see him again” She forced the smile into her voice as it was already on her face. “You guys have a _lot_ to catch up on I bet. Especially with Illia giving him stories on you”   
  
“Oh no…..I forgot Illa.” Blake’s hands covered her face. “She’s going to be waiting to embarrass me” Illia was _supposed_ to go to Mantle with them to see if there was anything left for her there. ……   
  
Blake had felt bad about…..well, never _noticing_ Illa liked her and had attempted to direct her to the best woman she knew-Yang. She was halfway through describing to Illa how you were blessed if Yang let you brush her hair and how soft she was as a pillow to fall on and cuddle with after a hard mission and how compassionate she was that Illa had burst out into laughing and called her a useless lesbian. Blake had protested because Sun-well, you could gently rub a rock down Sun and by the time you got to his waistband it was _powder_. Not to mention how his optimism was contagious and he was living sunshine. Illa had proclaimed her the world’s most useless _bisexual_. When Illa had given Yang a once over and her approval, Blake had panicked and practically _thrown_ Illa to Sun. She hadn't protested but Yang had just brought up the lovely point that Illa had just been with Sun for three months…. _unfiltered_ access….. FUCK. She could practically _hear_ the chuckles.   
  
“If I avoid the two of them, I can avoid bursting into flame...maybe….. _maybe_ ” Even as she said it, she knew it was hopeless. Illa and Sun both seemed to come with ‘Find Blake’ sensors. Sun had managed to track which ship she’d gotten on even with four others going off at the same time. Illa had always been the one to hunt her down when no one else in the Fang could find her. She was better at finding her than her own _mother. …._ Then again, her mother usually lured her out rather than going to find her.   
  
“Why would you wanna avoid Sun?” Yang asked. “I mean, in Vacuo that’s gonna be pretty hard, it’s a desert.” The blonde grinned, allowing the other three passengers to slowly register and shudder at that awful joke. Yang grinned even _harder_ at the looks of enraged disgust.   
  
“Jezze Yang that was _terrible_ even for you” Ruby shook her head and went back to the story. She really didn’t like Mercury, but Blake had written it _before_ it was known that he was an absolute monster and it was cute reading him attempt to flirt because of deep seated insecurity he covered up with being cool. Ruby _would_ have made Blake feel better by mentioning that she skipped the sex scenes in this book, but that would also mean admitting that she’d had to go back and skim for the character moments during them. It was also written as if Mercury’s semblance caused his legs extreme pain. She hated the real life jerk, she was a lot more forgiving of the secretly sweet troubled boy in the story.   
  
The flight was mostly silent. From Ruby and Weiss there were the flipping of pages. Yang went to the cockpit. She could see their progress. The Grimm proximity alarm was silent. But that was due to the girls on the inside as well as the lack of Grimm outside. After all. Everyone was distracting themselves. No thinking about JNR, no thinking about Qrow. Their negative feelings were shoved down and turned to, in two cases, books. Travel meant their thoughts had to stay light. Yang pushed away her jealousy of Sun to try and focus on Vacuo. She was…...Her eyes narrowed.   
  
The Malachite twins had been sent to Vacuo for school. Someplace called ‘ _Abyss’._ That’s where she had to go. Those two, half of Junior’s people actually, had a whole underground market of assassins. They’d find Tyrian there…. _she’d_ find Tyrian. Rubes didn’t need to see her…. _gathering information._ She’d make sure that everyone was settled at Shade, then tell them about a possible lead. If Blake wanted to go with her she could, but it was too dangerous for Ruby or Weiss. She’d find some Vacuan clothing and intimidate her way to the information she needed. Then they’d get an actual lead rather than sitting around waiting for someone else. Yang bit her lip. The goal had been ‘ _get to Atlas’_. Atlas was supposed to be better. But no, _this_ had happened. She was going to find her uncle. He wasn’t allowed to go the way of Pyrrha.   
  
“Penny for your thoughts?” Yang jumped as her partner entered the cockpit with her. Blake’s hair was already growing a bit, frizzy roots and gaining a wave at her shoulders that Yang couldn’t help to poke at. “I um….I left my straightener in Atlas.” She shrugged. “I’ll pick up a new one in Vacuo.” 

  
“What made you come up here? I thought you were writing?”    
  
“Drawing. And…” She held up the sketchbook and showed off… a rough sketch of the blonde. “It felt like a sign” Yang blushed hotly. “So...what were you thinking of?”    
  
“Bmbleby” Yang shrugged. Blake winced. She knew how much Yang had loved her bike….and she’d sent it over a  _ waterfall _ to save her life. “I’m gonna grab a new bike in Vacuo.” Blake started at Yang. She could tell that there was more. Yang gave up after a bit, looking sideways “I also remembered that I have a few…’ _ contacts’ _ in Vacuo. I’m gonna go talk to them…..I just have to find them first.” Blake looked down and nodded, understanding. Yang might be  _ missing _ for a while.    
  
“I can distract Ruby if you want?” She offered. Blake’s heart skipped as Yang’s soft eyes met her own in gratitude. Ruby didn’t need to worry about her sister  _ and _ uncle. “SSSN can help.” She continued when she caught her breath. “Sun….Sun mentioned that Sage’s an amazing tracker.” And it would be something  _ uniquely  _ terrible to work so close to Sun. He was  _ amazing  _ and he probably had found someone at home that was less…. _ anxious, bitter, distrusing, moody,  _ She coughed.    
  
“Oh you meant  _ team  _ SSSN” Yang sighed in relief. She was overjoyed about the team and helping with a tracker! Yang looked up to see that Blake had looked away. “Yeah, Team SSSN is gonna be a great help, if you can keep Sun focused instead of flirting with you constantly.” Blake coughed    
  
“ _ Nooooooo _ He’s ah. He’s” Her eyes were darting around, ears pressed flat to her head. “I mean. He probably found….someone better.” Yang’s jaw dropped. “I mean, he’s enthusiastic and optimistic and bright and determined and…..and…..I have that….habit of fleeing whenever things get har-”   
  
“I’m sorry” Her ears flipped up at the sudden and out of character apology. Her confusion must have showed on her face, because Yang plowed on. “I mean….don't get me wrong. I was so…. _ hurt _ that you took off. And….and it reminded me of my mom, how  _ she _ took off but” Blake tried to stop her. A red eyed glare was all it took for the other woman to lower her hand and close her mouth. “But seeing  _ that” _ and her metallic fist clenched, as if Blake somehow didn’t know. “…...couldn’t have been easy for you. And you do this thing….it’s…. _ wrong _ . It’s  _ so horribly wrong _ but you blame yourself for everything. So him standing there verbally reaffirming the blame you were already thinking of….I was hard on you.” Yang admitted. “I was  _ right _ and you shouldn’t have just run off like that. But….The fall shook us all up. I was so focused on feeling like my life was over. Then I was focused on everyone leaving. And then I just…..wanted to be angry. At the world. And you...kinda bear a passing resemblance to my mom. It was just this loop in my head. She left and trying to find her I almost killed Ruby and then Beacon fell and you left and….” Her words were cut off by the cat Faunus she currently had a lap full off.    
  
“I’m so sorry for running off,” Blake said sincerely. “I thought….I thought you hated me. It was my fault Adam was there.” Yang let out the smallest flinch at the name. “It’s my fault you got hurt. I just….I wanted to avoid hurting you any more than I had just by”    
  
“Shuush” Yang’s arms wrapped around the other girl and her head gently rested right in between Blake’s ears. “I know. For what it’s worth. Even though I was  _ pissed _ that you ran off in the first place…..I am glad you took a break to breathe, recharge, and regroup instead of running after Adamn full steam ahead.”   
  
“Well I had to. I  _ promised _ ” Yang hugged Blake tighter so that hopefully she wouldn’t notice the furious blush on her face. It was something they should have talked about before, both girls sighed, getting it off of their chests the pain and fear they had felt. It seemed like the Grimm too felt the lightness of the air, for they avoided the ship.    
  
“So” Yang started brightly, not letting Blake go but opening her arm a bit so that she could reposition herself to lean against the other’s chest “Tell me about Illa” Yang smirked at the sensation of Blake’s ears tickling her face as they flattened again. “Oh  _ that _ means this is gonna be good” The blonde grinned. Blake groaned and tried to explain-in a non embarrassing way, her best friend of ten years.    



	20. We interrupt this message

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so if you think this breakdown is odd-Penny was told she could only tell her friends info but doesn't know if she and Oscar are close enough to be considered as such. James doesn't see Oscar as his own person, more like Ozpin's vessel and knows that Penny and Ozpin aren't friends.

The relic was on lockdown. That meant it’s protector was  _ also _ on lockdown. Oscar wasn’t permitted to leave his room. The guard had been tripled in his hallway. Food was brought to him by a member of Team FNKI-usually Kobalt. The blue haired man didn’t stop long enough to eat with him. He just gave him food and homework and a laptop with recorded lessons.    
  
That was life for a bit. Food that, judging by the previous meals he’d eaten before, were probably good...he didn’t know, couldn’t tell. All he tasted was sand as he forced himself to mechanically shovel food. Even then, he wasn’t  _ entirely  _ sure it was him. It was impossible to tell if Oz were back or if the gaps in his memory were just that. … His mind giving him a reprieve from itself.    
  
When his mind was active, it was filled with guilt. He….he should have known. He should have called someone or at least suspected. What would have happened had he thought to even  _ text _ a congratulations when they didn’t come right back. He’d assumed they’d been out having a blast, getting to know each other even better and solidifying the relationship that everyone could see coming from a mile away. He’d  _ assumed _ and for that they’d been missing for a whole day before anyone thought to look for them. The whole weekend was lost. And what was going to happen on Monday when Jaune wasn’t back and Yang was gone?    
  
He didn’t do the work they gave him. He couldn’t process it. It had been a week since that first night. The night that if he’d actually noticed they didn’t come back, instead of thinking that they were down in Mantle eating like they did at times. He should have warned everyone when they didn’t come right back. Why didn’t he warn everyone???!    
  
Oscar took a shaky breath, tired eyes sliding over to the softly glowing proximity alarm. It had been two weeks. And still, no word from RWBY. Not that they could  _ send  _ word. Not with one of the com towers down. So Oscar was there...staring at walls, forcing himself to eat at times...or someone  _ else _ forcing him to eat. Food tasted like sand and everyday was a challenge to not use the lamp to check if they were okay. He already knew  _ that _ answer. No one was okay. No one in Remnant  _ could  _ be safe while Salem still had control over Grimm, while she still worked tirelessly to destroy the people of the world. 

He wasn’t a wonderful last stand for the relic, and for that he was grateful of the proximity alarm on his desk. It glowed red when someone without clearance came to the room, but stayed clear if the person had clearance. It didn’t make noise. After all, if you were walking down a highly guarded off limits area, the thing you were  _ looking  _ for would have an alarm. If he saw it flashing red, he was supposed to take the relic and escape through the joined bathroom to R.W.B.Y’s empty room, which most likely would have been attacked first since it was a dead end hallway. But the alarm was clear now, which is why the depressed boy didn’t notice the knocking on the door. Nor did he notice when the knocker got impatient with him and simply  _ hacked _ the door open.    
  


“Oscar?” The boy looked up at the voice that called him, wiping away his tears as soft green eyes met the more  _ electric  _ shade of the same color family. He scrambled away from the robot as she entered the room, offering her the spot on the bed that he’d recently been occupying before he’d tried to see if the desk would make him feel les….or….in this case he supposed it was  _ more _ . “You were trying to hide the fact that you were crying” Penny said softly. His eyes welled with tears again as he nodded. He shouldn’t have tried to hide from Penny. She always knew and “You were unsuccessful” …..she was always  _ blunt _ . Somehow, that brought a smile to his face, even as more tears fell. 

“Sorry. I just….everyone’s  _ gone.”  _ He shook his head, smile cracking at the edges as another wave of unfathomable devastation washed over him. He could  _ distinctly  _ recall the scent of the older man that wrapped arms around him. It was weird, he could be standing right  _ next _ to Jaune and not know, but he smelt metal and sweat and felt safe and  _ gods he was crying again.  _ He was only distantly aware of the fact that he was being held. He was completely  _ unaware _ of the fact that he was shaking. But Penny held on tightly anyway, letting him sob into her cold shoulder as she hugged him against a body that only felt human on the surface. 

“It has been five minutes and forty five seconds.” She started as he pulled away and pulled himself together, taking deep breaths. “That is not within the normal rage of processing the five stages of grief. Are you  _ sure _ you’re alright?” He couldn’t help but crack a smile at the question. It was always a coin flip with Penny if she was actually clueless on human habits or affecting it to make someone feel better. Most of the time it was genuine, but she had a tendency to surprise people.    
  
“I think so. I just….I have to hope that everyone’s going to come back soon….that Ruby and the others find them and bring them back.” He was quiet for a moment, looking out at nothingness. “This was my fault.” Penny blinked at him in confusion. “I should have said they were missing right away. But I assumed that.”   
  
“Based on their actions and the movies I have seen, you were not too far off in your assumptions.” Her face softened. “You were hoping something good had happened. It is much safer here than it was in your journey to this place. So it was natural for your defences to drop. With lowered defenses you did not automatically assume something terrible. Your mind latched onto something good. In fact, the best possible option.” She smiled and held his shoulder. He strengthened his resolve and sighed, accepting her words and giving her back a tentative smile. However, Penny wasn’t paying attention to his attempt. Her eyes were focused on something in the middle distance, pensive and upset. Something was wrong. He felt his stomach drop. Something was  _ wrong _ and in absence of RWBY she was coming to him. What was wrong? It had to be personal, otherwise she’d have gotten the Ace Ops   
  
“Penny?” There was a slight whirring sound as the automaton processed a thought, then turned to him, face hard. She opened her mouth, then sparked slightly and looked off to the side, annoyed perhaps, or sad. 

“Oscar…..we are _ friends _ correct?” He froze, the ‘of course’ dying in his throat. He didn’t know her that well. In fact, he’d spoken to her maybe three times, including this time. She always waved at him, she was pleasant. But he was learning to fight, going to huntsmen academy since he had nothing better to do….not even doing that now, locked up with homework and food being brought to him. There felt like something Penny wasn’t saying….or rather, something beyond what she  _ was  _ saying. But she was nice, she was friends with Ruby and that was the only seal of approval he needed in this situation. He nodded carefully...and apparently that was the right answer, for she took a deep and wholly unnecessary breath. “There are things that even as friends I cannot tell you” She informed him. Her eyes sparked slightly as they darted around the room. He frowned. The only other time he’d seen her doing that…..she’d said she had to check the security cameras before settling down for movie night with the others. Her eyes refocused on him, but he was more focused on  _ what  _ she’d been looking for. She opened her mouth, then said mouth sparked slightly and she frowned, before smiling brightly. “I do not come prepared with the emotional capacity to discuss this….I don’t think I ever will but I have to tell you….” her words cut out and her face fell. “This would bring great emotional distress”   
  
“I’m already emotionally distressed,” Oscar prodded gently. Penny bit her lip and Oscar’s eyes widened at the realization that whatever it was that she needed to tell him….she  _ also _ didn’t want to talk about it. “Penny. If it’s not something you can say….I understand. But if it’s something you think I should know….. _ please _ ?” She stopped for a moment, thinking hard….then her face lit up with an idea.   
  
“Friends have the ability to see when other friends are…. _ upset _ ….and offer companionship in those times. Like the companionship of a movie. What I am saying is that….we should _ really _ watch a movie together. It is an important request.” As she spoke she raised her hand…..her index finger had slid back, allowing a usb cord to be visible. Her eyes were on him again and while he wasn’t a  _ genius _ , Oscar was FAR from stupid. 

“A movie between friends” Oscar agreed with a nod. Why hadn’t she gone to Ruby with this before they left if it was this important. This wasn’t just an emotional conversation. This was an actual  _ problem _ . What could he do? Penny nodded firmly and looked into the middle distance again, checking the cameras as Oscar plugged her up into his scroll. 

Something was wrong with the video transmission. He knew that just by glancing down. There was a super long password. As he watched, the passcode was entered without any input from him. The download started. But….again, only for a bit before his scroll made a sound. ‘ _ Download 6% encryption locked. Password? _ ’ As he watched the complex puzzle for the password went orange, spiraling out of control until it unlocked. What the hell was she downloading that had an encryption lock at 6% downloaded? It happened again at 10%, 15%, 23%. 30% 42%. It was staggering the passcodes so that you couldn’t just plug in a hacking device and walk away. You had to be there monitoring and probably get yourself caught. There was no reason for this information to be this guarded unless it was something that was never to see the light of day. Which was astounding only because she’d calmly told them that James had told her and Winter about the maidens. He’d seemed so open and transparent. … how much of that was an act? He hid a lot from the people of Atlas. How much was he hiding from his Allies?    
  
Oscar was suddenly aware of just how  _ monitored  _ she was. It was easy for your mind to stop registering Penny as a robot. She was just  _ Penny _ . Yeah she sparked sometimes, but that was just a  _ Penny _ thing. And the personality of Penny and how open and loving and sweet she was hit a  _ harsh  _ wall when you tried to slot it into  _ Winter Schnee military  _ status…..which was probably the point. A sweet little red herring spy had been wandering around Beacon and translating the information directly to Atlas’ military and while the Great War was over and he really didn’t need to be worried about  _ Penny  _ of all people, having met her…..he was starting to understand the outrage of her having been made the way she did. After all, the people of Mantle  _ adored _ her and didn’t register that she was literally monitoring all of their actions from above. Oscar suppressed a shudder. No wonder she’d seemed worried when she asked if they were friends. He didn’t think she’d be able to make many if they understood just what she was doing. A quarter of the way through the download he put on an actual movie so that if interrogated she had an alibi to show, she actually  _ had  _ watched a movie. By the soft smile she gave, this was the right action. He was happy to know that Emotional Intelligence came in handy at times. 

There was a knock on the door and Oscar threw a pillow over Penny’s hand and his own scroll. It was the right call as James Ironwood himself entered the room. “Penny” And she looked up in confusion.    
  
“Hello sir! Penny said brightly. James looked uncomfortable, a thought he hadn’t expected entered his mind. The two were on the bed, a large gap of space between them as the movie played.    
  
“Are you two friends?” He asked once,  _ carefully _ . It set Oscar on edge.    
  
“Penny came to keep me company since everyone’s missing and I can’t leave.” Oscar said before she could speak. “She’s nice” He shrugged. James let his mind roll around that idea. “Can she please stay till the end of the movie? I know you’re all busy I just….really appreciate a friendly face.” James’ jaw clenched tightly for a moment, but he sighed.    
  
“Alright then. But this isn’t going to be a pattern. Penny you have duties. No time for friends, remember that.” She nodded.    
  
“Understood sir. He just seemed emotionally distraught. I am programed to keep away Grimm and a few flying ones have seemed drawn to Atlas lately.” James sighed. He didn’t doubt that. The amount of emotional distress from he, Winter, and Oscar alone was probably enough of a meal to call them.    
  
“The Cameras in this sector went out. Do you know anything about that Penny?” Penny pouted.    
  
“They were fine when I checked them an hour ago. Though perhaps my checking caused them to switch off. I had thought my father fixed that glitch. I will talk to him about that to see if it reappeared.” James nodded. That  _ was _ a problem, Penny shorting out cameras as she used them as extensions of her own eyes. She couldn’t even  _ see _ most of Mantle, it was too old for the cameras to do much more than  _ blow up  _ when confronted with the highly advanced piece of hardware that Penny was. He turned to stalk away, content with the answers he’d been given. If Penny continued to spend time with Ozpin it would become a problem, but for now she was just doing her job.    
  
“Enjoy the movie” He said as he left and went to manually turn the cameras back on. Unseen by him Penny and Oscar sighed in relief as he left. Oscar pulled off the pillow to see that Penny was furiously decrypting a worm of a passcode and that the download was at 92%. What she was giving him….it wasn’t just big, it was probably  _ dangerous _ . When she finally finished she reforemed her finger and picked up his scroll. 

“Do you have anyone important that you might need to call now or ever?” She asked. Oscar frowned, blinking uncertainly. 

“I…..don’t think so?”    
  
“Good.” Her eyes flashed once as she hacked into the device. His own depression was shoved aside for his curiosity as she worked. His scroll was flashing signs he had never before seen as she focused on it. When she was done, she sighed. “Wait twenty four hours for my virus to worm its way through your scroll.” His eyes widened as her face seemed to harden. He could almost see the steel humming beneath her synthetic skin, so serious was her expression.    
  
“Penny,  _ what  _ is going on?” Oscar asked, his voice a terrified whisper. She bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth and he wondered at the mechanics of that.    
  
“I  _ literally _ cannot tell you. Even the possibility of me telling you has caused me to have to deal with extra missions. I am so sorry. Everything I personally have registered as important is included on that video. You have to wait to be off the grid so that the general is not notified of you watching that video. I do know what you may do with the information contained. But the General was adamant you not know about it. ….I made the executive decision that you should be told…..because I am your friend.” She nodded to him as the movie ended.    
  
“PENNY” She locked up as her hand flew to her ear. “I’m sorry to pull you away from emotional duties, but there’s an issue in sector seventeen. I trust the movie is over?” Oscar’s eyes drifted to where the credits had just started to roll…..they were….. The movie had been  _ timed.  _   
  
“On my way sir!” She flashed Oscar a sad smile and pushed something into his hands. 

Ren’s scroll. It was cracked and busted but still worked, their only piece of evidence. And it had a sticky note on it….   
  
  


  
  


**_Alive_ **


	21. Shade-y business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is this so late???? um.....I have no excuse. Sorry. ALSO!!! I haven't read BtD or AtF. I'm just using names from them. I had friends give me summaries and I......genuinely don't like how they sound. That being said I've also got a different version of Vacuo in my head so.......yeah! I'm updating a few tags as characters elbow their way into larger parts than I had in mind for them. So....yeah.....please enjoy

It wasn’t surprising that there was a line. What was surprising was the heat….and the fact that going inside didn’t much help with it. RWB were all squirming as they waited inside the stuffy building. It was probably just from the Atlas clothes, they’d be alright…..right? Yeah, probably. They’d be fine. Yang occupied herself with people watching as they went to the window for a transport ticket to Shade. As they finally approached, they saw that the window was tended to by….if the word ‘bored’ was it person, it was likely the girl in front of them. She was flipping idly through a notebook.

  
“King?” She asked. …..

  
“ _King?”_ Ruby asked. She was in the front as the team leader but….she didn’t understand. “What king?” The girl rolled her eyes.  
  
“Okay. No king and no claims either I’m guessing. More for-” Ruby cut her off   
  
“Hey not to be rude but what’s going on?” The woman gave a sigh so weary it seemed to take some of her soul with it. As if summoned by the sound, a boy walked out from behind her grabbing some paperwork before he noticed the group. His eyes lit up and a smirk snaked out along his lips.   
  
“Cham take a break. I’ve got this” She rolled her eyes again.   


“You work  _ entirely _ too hard for your king.” She shook her head. He chuckled, then….that smile of his got almost... _ dangerous _ at the edges. What on earth? 

“What brings you cuties to Vacuo?” There was  _ something _ about his too eager voice that raised the hair on all of their arms. Yang turned back to the man, watching him. She could happily flirt with the best of them, but the tone was all wrong. It rubbed her the wrong way. As she observed more, it  _ continued _ to rub her wrong. The young man in front of them seemed to be….sizing them up more than undressing with his eyes. His grin was off too. A bit too…..she didn’t want to call it too wide, to  _ manic _ more like. He looked hungry…..but…..the wrong  _ type _ . It set her off, the hairs on her arm standing up. She was the tallest of the group, and the strongest. But that didn’t stop her from being just a  _ touch  _ concerned, lavender eyes narrowing in suspicion even a smile that was all teeth sat on her face. Ruby felt it too, her stance was pulled back just a bit as the guy leaned too far forward, leering at all of them.

  
“We’re team RWBY.” Her near constant smile was strained as the guy leaned forward a bit more. “Transfer students for Shade? We were in Atlas but...that didn’t work out.” His storm grey eyes flickered to Blake for an instant.   
  
“Ah yes, Faunus in Solitas are usually met with problems.” There was a bitterness under his voice...an _anger_. But he managed to brighten up relatively quickly. “Speaking of which. The Faunus needs a blood test” That hungry look was back as his eyes were fixed on Blake even as her ears flattened to her head and she shifted uncomfortably toward Weiss  
  
“Is that really necessary?” She asked, shoving her hands into what was left of her pockets. Upon leaving the airship her zippers-laughed at for impracticability- had all been opened. The air was still hot and sticky on her skin, but much less horrible than her suit being closed.   
  
“We’ve got to be ready when you go on the circuit.” Blake recoiled.   
  
“Excuse me?” She asked. The man gave her a confused look….then snorted. Yang narrowed her eyes, the uneasy feeling not fading even as he rubbed the back of his neck in a way that would be adorable were the alarm bells not still ringing. She felt the hair on her arms stand up and took her eyes away from the guy for a second, sighing to knock out some of the tension she felt. As she looked away she saw that their group was getting more than a _little_ bit of attention. There had to be at least twenty people staring at them **_hard_** , though most of them turned to look away as lavender eyes landed on them. Well _that_ wasn’t disconcerting at all. Yang turned her attention back to the guy at the counter, squaring her shoulders in case they were all attacked.   
  
“Sorry, I was born here. Forgot the _slang_ is a little different everywhere” He shook his head and held out the test. It was an odd device, Blake was to put her finger in and it would stab her for a sample, before telling what percentage of Faunus she was. Blake herself had seen them before, just older versions and her mouth drew into an ugly scowl. There were only two reasons to check _how_ Faunus someone was. The first was if you racist and wanted to keep out _any_ Faunus. But….that couldn’t be it. They had only asked _her_. They knew she had to be at least %15 percent to have a visible trait. That led to the second reason. But…..it didn’t make sense to check for how ‘royal’ she was. Vacuo didn’t strike her as that pretentious. “It’s just a thing.” His smile didn’t sit right, annoyed that he had to do this.   
  
“Is it mandatory?” Blake asked. He smothered a grin.   
  
“ _Well_ ” and there was a **_LARGE_** amount of sleaze on that “I can make it so you don’t get on the circuit on the first place.” His grin widened “I’ve got connections on top of it. Third Sect” She didn’t know...what _any_ of that meant. But it was nothing good.  
  
“I’ll take my chances with this ‘Circuit’ you’re talking about” With a scowl she deactivated the aura of her left arm, then held out her hand, letting her finger into the awaiting slot. After the amount of fights she’d been in, the prick of a needle was nothing, she still winced when she heard the beep. When he had the information she knew by heart.   
  
“You _sure_ you wanna go to Shade?” He asked, and Blake recoiled from him and that _Hungry_ look, now narrowed onto her fangs. The same look Yang realized was directed at her whenever she wore a low cut shirt and idiots assumed she was _helpless._ She now registered that look. It wasn’t lust, not _just_ lust. It was the dehumanizing look that you got when all that was running through your mind was how easy it would be to take something that didn’t belong to you. Her metal arm went out at once, grabbing her partner and pulling her behind the wall of **YANG**. Weiss and Ruby also darted behind the blonde as the eldest of the group decided to _handle_ the rest, slamming her arm down on the sill and gaining a truly _feral_ smile.   
  
“We’re headed to Shade” She said, maintaining pleasantness even while every last _atom_ of her being just _SCREAMED_ that she’d destroy you if you fucked with her. Strangely, the hungry look was still there, along with a hint of a _challenge_. The guy’s grin got even wider, near twitching with excitement. 

“Lemmie get your passes.” He was almost breathless, and licked his teeth quickly. “We can’t  _ wait  _ to have you.” The passes were given to them, along with identification papers. … The world’s  _ weirdest _ identification papers. It only had their names, hair colors, heights and...in the case of Blake….

_ 90%-true pure feline _

“Hey!” Yang’s head tilted at the number. Blake  _ braced  _ “What does this even mean?” she asked, showing the slip of paper even as the four rushed away from -creepy man- and instead to a corner seat that maybe could hide them a little from the other creepy folks. Releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Blake relaxed, her eyes flipping back up.    
  
“Um….Well, genetics. It’s like saying you have Vacuan in your DNA somewhere….only….the higher of a Faunus you are, the more you exhibit your traits.” It was a little bit more complicated than that, secondary traits in some true pures, and muddy pures were a thing and…. “It...just….um….I mean….I have extra parts in my brain to process the sound from my second set of ears. ...most higher Faunus have different eyes, it’s not just seeing in the dark….I can see some extra colors too….slightly more sensitive nose...I hate being dirty…..” She shifted a bit as she bared the fangs she’d spent most of first year hiding. Yang realized that this line of conversation was  _ bothering  _ her.    
  
“Allright, I’ll just say it now, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard!” And then she changed the conversation. “And I  **_CAN NOT_ ** wait to meet Illa and trade stories about you!” Blake’s head was in her hands at once, this time in embarrassment.    
  


It seemed like there were a lot of refugees coming into Vacuo. ...That wasn’t surprising. Atlas was where they were processing refugees and they weren’t letting many people in. Ruby had a very real moment of terror as she realized that it wouldn’t take  _ long _ for the people of Haven to realize that the school wasn’t making much noise, for the shops to wonder where the students were….it had already been felt with the family members that never returned from hunts. How long until they felt it all over, until the Grimm came with no one responding to calls for help. With Atlas still on lockdown, Vacuo was about to become  _ very  _ populated. There were huntsman and students alike, guarding the wide open spaces where windows would probably be if it wasn’t such horrible dry heat that the saliva was stolen out of her mouth. 

There were about twenty different access points for the…..weird modified bikes? Sort of bus things? Trolleys? _ Transport vehicles _ , to come in. Most of them just had numbers. 1-11. They seemed to be important, but the people didn’t seem friendly. They were all huddled in clusters and talking amongst themselves. Yang’s eyebrow raised as she realized it wasn’t just  _ Blake _ . Most of the Faunus were getting leered at. One of the access points said ‘Abyss’ and Yang’s eyes traveled towards it…..but she couldn’t go just yet. First thing was first, giving this school the third degree and making sure that her team was safe there, that it was only the people at the entrance that were  _ super creepy _ . As the girls watched they noted that for the sections, multiple transport vehicles came in, all slightly different colors and styles depending on their section. The people for Abyss were getting on the style for ‘5’. A sort of rope lined bike creation for people to tie on their belongings and pedal to where they needed to go. When the one for Vacuo finally came it was the style for ‘eight;. Hopefully that meant they were close and she could just sneak over.    
  
Their luggage was loaded up onto the transport vehicle, though it was a stretch to even call it that. The cart was large enough to function sort of like a wooden trolley, seating twenty people on the rotting insides and held together with glue and hope. The girls,  _ Yang especially  _ had to hunch over in order to actually fit in under the sagging roof, which was only made  _ worse  _ by the fact that the roof was where their luggage was tied up.    
  
The trip was….terrible. The trolley was full, probably more full than it should have been. They claimed that it could fit twenty, but it would only fit  _ ten _ comfortably and there had to be at least forty shoved on at any point in time, grabbing onto the outside and crawling in or out from the empty holes. Weiss tried to use her hair as a barricade against the sand that was kicked up and  _ in _ the windowless thing. Rather than wheels, it used treads to move quickly through the endless expanse of sun bleached sand. There was nothing to protect them from the hellish landscape and the thirst that seemed to suffuse into their very being. Weiss even unclipped her overskirt. Having grown up in Atlas she was used to the cold. Vale had been a bit of an adjustment but she managed. That being said, this was  _ impossible _ . She felt like she was melting, even though she felt her aura exerting itself just to keep the sun from blistering her out here. It wasn’t helped by the stops. Every so often in seemingly  _ random  _ areas there were groups of people by a stick in the ground. Two or three people would get off. Eight or nine would clamor on, making the already too hot glorified  _ cart _ have the extra unpleasantness of being shoved against sticky skin and the unfortunate fact of more body heat. They really needed a better  _ system _ here.    
  
In what felt like  _ far too long  _ the girls finally made it to the school. …  _ Town _ ? The trolley stopped at the base of a weird town _ like _ thing. The shops, if they could be called that, were all ramshackle stalls that looked as if they’d been tossed together in the dead of night. Maybe they actually  _ had  _ been. Everything was tried down with ropes tied to, presumably there were stakes buried deep in the ground. But maybe that was  _ necessary  _ with the amount of sand being kicked into the air by the harsh winds. To be fair, though there was enough sand flying around for each stall to have a  **_thick_ ** coating of it, the ground directly under their feet was tamped down, as if a valiant, though ultimately wasted, effort had been made to turn the sand into something even halfway solid. Most of the people filing out of the overstuffed trolley ran off after grabbing their things, fully aware of just  _ where _ they were headed.    
  
Team RWBY on the other hand, was slightly lost. They walked through the ‘ _ town’ _ and examined some of the stalls. Blake made a practical beeline to a clothing stall, Ruby only a step behind her. Weiss had joined the clothing search but had recoiled at the sight of a stall offering tiny scorpions roasted and speared on a stick. She grabbed Ruby’s arm and directed the other girl to look. Ruby paled, not at the sight of the scorpions, but from the fact that right next to them was a stall selling  _ jars of organs _ .    
  
Yang was fine, a side effect of her semblance was temperature regulation. She had a higher body temperature so cold wasn’t an issue and in heat she tended to just  _ absorb  _ the extra into the fringes of her semblance. She’d be on fire a lot more here, that was all. Each stall had two people at it. The obvious shopkeep and...strangely….a  _ huntsmen.  _ Were thieves really that big of an issue here? Still, there was a stall with  _ bikes _ which happened to be  _ just what she was looking for _ . The ‘featured bike’ looked like trash. The engine was partially exposed which made it easier to clean, but all the sand around here made it so that the pieces would need to be replaced relatively soon, she could already see the dents forming, which would make it annoying to repair later. Speaking of repairs, she needed to guard her arm against the weather. Maybe find a scrapyard for spare parts since she’d possibly need to make a detachable cover. If she got that thing. She walked to the shop. Up close was even worse. The joints holding the wheels to the bike were rusted. She tried to get a look at some of the other bikes, but the Huntsman stepped in front of her.    
  
“Featured bike is the one being sold,” She said, bored. “You can’t afford the ones back there” Yang hadn’t spent any money while in Atlas. Ruby brought enough snacks for everyone to steal,  _ they were all for her but she never noticed that they were being nicked by everyone else _ , and clothes had been provided. Qrow had gotten her the sunglasses as a birthday present, and the repairs had been a thank you for being good friends to Penny. That being said, she had  _ quite a lot  _ in her stash of ‘ _ saving for a new bike _ ’    
  
“I think I can afford it” Yang said with a grin. “Besides, the featured bike is shit.”    
  
“YANG” The blonde pouted, turning at the call of her sister. Ruby and Weiss were clinging onto each other. Blake had joined them, sans new clothes and looking uncomfortable again. The Blonde narrowed her eyes and started over, but Ruby noticed the stand she was at. “We found the school. It’s a ten minute walk. The weird triangle box thing. You can’t miss it. You get your stuff. We’ll get settled.” With the directions gotten Yang turned back to the huntswomen. After all, even in a new place they were all together. There was nothing  **_MAJOR_ ** they could get into in say….like, an hour to haggle down price. So the blonde turned to give a cosksure smirk at the pink haired woman.    
  
“So, the bikes in the back?” She asked. The woman chuckled warmly as the shopkeeper stepped forward.

  
“160,000 Lein.” Yang couldn’t help the wince that flashed across her face. That much for a high end one  _ maybe  _ wouldn’t be….no, it’d still be horribly overpriced, just a bit more understandable with idiots that assumed their names tripled the price of parts and labor. “And that’s just the price to see them.” The Shopkeeper scowled. “I suggest you take your business elsewhere. Luckily for me,  _ I’m  _ off circuit.” Again with that circuit stuff. “Those can’t help you” And he gestured, quite  _ rudely  _ at her chest. Yang had  _ worked  _ on her temper and focus and all that….she just wasn’t the  _ best _ at it.    
  
“Of course” The huntsman was smirking. “There are  _ other _ ways…..I’m still on circuit. I’ll trade you the Faunus for a bike.” And Yang’s eyes  _ flickered  _ a bit, between red and lavender as she tried to get herself under control.    
  
“Wanna run that by me again?” There was a threat in her voice, but rather than being cowed, the huntress gained that same, odd  _ hungry _ look the creep at the transit hub had given. Still….    
  
“Let’s brawl.” The huntress suggested, as casual as you may please. “You win, I’ll get you a major discount on whatever bike you want.  _ I _ win...I get the Faunus  _ and _ you.” She was smirking, hand already gripping the hilt of a serrated machete in her hip. Lavender eyes narrowed. Win and get a bike…..lose and…..The blonde cracked her neck.    
  
It was north of the town, a large almost triangle rising up like a mirage. This particular triangle had flat meassas every few feet, blackened sand smoothing out to woven weed roofs before continuing, almost like a set of steps far too wide to ever climb.There was an  _ actual  _ set of stairs leading to a large set of doors and the three girls looked at each other before starting the climb. The inside of the building was darker than outside. That wasn’t to say that it was dark in fact, it was a relief that inside that the structure was cool and there was blessed  _ shade  _ and the three felt themselves stop  _ melting. _ Light was filtered through slots on the walls, unseen from the outside but illuminating paths along the walls. Lucky, cause there was a sign that said ‘Headmaster’ in soft blue. That's the way they went, Ruby already coming up with excuses for her sister if ‘she just wanted to do some quick shopping’ wasn’t taken. It occurred to her she should’ve really asked Ironwood about this headmaster and what they were like.    
  
Three fourths of the team entered the archway that gave way to the headmaster’s office. There was an angry looking woman there, tapping furiously on an old computer. The plaque on her desk read: Xanthe Rumpole….well,  _ presumably  _ it was on the desk….presumably there  _ was _ a desk. She was swimming in paperwork, in fact it was a wonder if there were any documents even left in the computer she was typing at. The girls looked at each other a moment before Ruby, team leader, once again volunteered to go.    
  
“Umm…. _ hello? _ ” The woman jerked up at Ruby’s voice, hands and face both stained with ink. Her dark circles could be seen even behind the thick rims of her gold tinted sunglasses. Her frown got even worse.    


“Oh  _ fantastic”  _ She groused. “ _ Another  _ refugee team missing a member. Okay, I’ll schedule a reselection. Since you all keep coming in there’s no shortage of”    
  
“OH! We’re a full team” The woman looked at them again, as if she fully believed that she had miscounted. “My sister is in town buying a bike.” That caused a  _ snort  _ for some odd reason.  _ Weird _ . But luckily, not weirder than the border.   
  


“Good luck” The woman chuckled. “Ah well, I’ll log her in when she gets here and take her off circuit.” Weiss opened her mouth to ask about the mysterious circuit, but the woman continued. “Transfers from Beacon or Haven?” She asked, typing furiously. 

“Atlas.” Ruby nodded. Xanthe jumped out of her seat, so suddenly that she managed to flail her glasses off.    
  
“DID SOMETHING HAPPEN TO ATLAS!!! FUCK I’M NOT EVEN DONE WITH  _ HAVEN _ ” Ruby winced, seeing as she had made the woman...well, she wasn’t sobbing or anything, but she  _ was _ tearing up….though, if that was because of the thought of another school going down or the stress of even more work was….unknown.    
  
“No no no” Weiss pushed forward. “ _ Just  _ transfers. General Ironwood sent us.” The woman sighed, running her hands back to weave in her braid of sand colored hair as she took deep breaths.    
  
“Of  _ course _ you did James” She scowled, then sighed. “We weren’t expecting any Atlas transfers” An sort of empty helplessness crossed her face for just a  _ second _ . Then she shook it off and composed herself. “I’ll find a room for you all. The third tier is where the students from Shade are. Left and south side of the second tier is where the teams from Beacon are. The fifth tier is where the students from Haven are. I’ll find a spot for your team by tomorrow night. Try to find a friend or two that would let you stay with them. And don’t leave the school grounds. Vacuo is” Her voice cut out. “ _ Different _ than Atlas.” The girls looked between each other. “Anyway, thank you for not giving me  _ too _ much extra work. I’ll let the headmaster know you’re here.” It was as clear a dismissal as any, and she went back to furiously typing out….who knew. RWB left the room, all glancing at each other. They were hot, sweaty, Yang was apparently not safe….Weiss took a deep breath as she stepped up to the plate.   
  
“I say we split up.” She suggested. “Blake, you said Team Sun had a good tracker? Follow up on that. Ruby, you actually  _ made  _ friends at school, check the Beacon tier. I’ll check around the Shade tier and see if I spot any friendly faces.” The three nodded with that plan and ran off to find stairs. 

* * *

It wasn’t very hard to find team SSSN. Blake had only been away from her team a moment before realizing that since they were in an area with a com tower again, her scroll was working. She sent a text to Illa for the exact room number, then one to Yang to let her know where to meet up with  **_someone_ ** at least, and hunted until she found it, knocking. There was the sound of a door slamming, and then a flustered looking Neptune opened the door wide with a slightly strained smile.    
  
“Inspection alre…. _ Blake?”  _ She barely had a moment to register before she was swept up in hug. “BLAKE!!! MAN OH MAN AM I  _ GLAD _ TO SEE YOU! Wait” And he put her down, looking past her for.    
  
“Everyone’s alright” Blake smiled. “We just split up for a bit to find a room to crash in for the night.” The worry left his face.    
  
“I’d offer here but the extra bed’s always in use and the closet’s allegedly uncomfortable.” He gestured inside to where Sage stopped  _ leaning  _ on said closet, allowing the girl inside to pop it open with a wry smirk.

“Why is Illa in a  _ closet _ ?” Blake demanded. Though demanded was a bit  _ strong _ of a word. The indignation in her tone wared heavily with both confusion and  _ genuine exasperation.  _ As if even forcing the thought through her mind had drained her of all of her energy. The members of Team SSN glanced at each other. There seemed to be some sort of mental conversation between the boys. They tried looking to Illa herself, whom gave a bemused smirk. She shrugged and hung the boys out to dry.    
  
“She’s  _ technically  _ not allowed to be here” Neptune admitted. “She’s not a part of a team but Sun told her to make sure she wasn’t kicked out and that no one found her during surprise raids.Which happen….a lot surprisingly. Like twice a week.”   
  
“At this point we could pretend she was Sun. She can turn blonde.” Scarlet grumbled angrilly, his arms crossed.    
  
“What happened to Sun?” Asked Blake. With the weirdness at the border, the crazy at the market, and the WTF or registration, she hadn’t even registered that he wasn’t around.    
  
“He keeps running off.” That was pure  _ poison _ in Scarlet’s voice. “Maybe his Blake alarm will go off and he’ll stay around for a bit” Blake raised an eyebrow but Sage, Neptune, and Illa all seemed to be holding back laughter.    
  
“You’ll have to forgive Scarlet” Sage cut in with a smile. “They used to date. He’s bitter now because they’re  _ technically  _ dating again.”   
  
“What was that? Sun’s dating someone?” They all jumped as Yang entered the room, the tone in her voice a bit  _ bright _ . Blake gave a distracted look to see that the text had been read. Huh, guess Yang got that bike she was looking for. That was weird. Trying to buy clothes, they’d been slapped with a  **_HEFTY_ ** price tag and a leering salesman that talked about that weird ‘Cricut’ stuff again.    
  
“All of us allegedly” Illa said, sounding more…. _ concerned _ than uncomfortable. Blake shook her head like she’d been dunked in water. Before the question could claw its way out of her mouth Illa rose a hand. “They were  _ really  _ weird at the border. Did you notice.”    
  
“Yeah.” Yang agreed as she thought about it. “They were asking weird questions about claims and kings. They stopped when we said we were transfers to Shade. Then they just nodded us in and took down our names and hair colors, a test in Blake’s case, then something about a circuit.”    
  
“Sun handled all of that. He put down his staff and told them we were his team and partners.” Neptune looked uncomfortable even as he said it. “Said we were claimed by the Second and Shade students...and that’s after he spent the train ride to Vacuo telling us to stay quiet and let him talk.”    
  
“And that didn’t set off alarm bells?” Yang asked. “Sun’s a pretty fun guy and you were all chill with him suddenly being super serious?” His team shuddered...Yang’s face fell. “Super serious means  _ obey _ ?” She guessed.    
  
“Something is weird about this whole country,” Illa admitted. “He didn’t seem to want to let us leave the school...he actually seemed... really scared about that. And the headmaster’s also…. _ weird _ …..but in a different way. I haven’t seen much but the inside of this room since it’s ‘not safe’.”   
  
“Again.” Scarlet scowled. “She could pretend to be Sun. He shows up for class,  _ sometimes _ , and runs off again.” The redhead finally uncrossed his arms and sighed, the anger falling out of him and his shoulders sagging. “I’m really  _ worried. _ ” He admitted. “He had a tendency to run off before, but never nearly this much. He’s like a ghost now….he said this place was super dangerous, but then he runs off alone.” He huffed, blowing his hair out of his face...then got exasperated again. “What is it with Vacuians and not  _ trusting  _ anyone!?” He demanded. Neptune was a close second behind him.   
  
“You have to find out everything by yourself. If you ask questions people either laugh at you or charge you for it or try to get a  **_date_ ** out of it! Everything’s a fight This whole  _ school _ is on edge and it’s making me PARANOID!!!” Neptune was trembling. “And that’s just the  _ school _ immagine the rest of the country Sun’s keeping us from.” Sage placed a big hand down on Neptune’s shoulder to try and help him allay the panic attack. Yang however, had more pressing questions. 

“Wait they legit  _ only  _ take down hair colors?” Yang asked. Sage nodded. “In class...they don’t really look at us when we do attendance. Scar and I tried to be funny once and switched. So I was looked at in confusion with ‘you’re supposed to be a redhead’.” He shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Sun said Vacuo was different, that he went to Haven for a reason. I think I’m starting to figure out  _ why _ ”    
  
“What’s the Circuit system?” Blake asked. The boys got uncomfortable, all of them looking at the ground.    
  
“Neptune’s worst nightmare” Illa supplied. “It’s like….a country wide dating pool to get the best genes in your family. So someone really strong, or fast, or smart.” Blake’s eyes widened.    
  
“Or a high level Faunus that’s flexible with a great sense of smell and night vision.” Blake shuddered. No wonder the guy was  _ salivating  _ when he saw her percentage. She was a genetic  _ jackpot _ . Yang looked away at once, something bugging her, but she bit her lip, a surefire sign you’d never pry it out of her.   
  
“Hey _Illa_ ” She deflected before anyone could ask. “Could you go blonde and sit in on my classes for a few days?” Every eye in the room was on her. “My uncle went missing….I think I got a lead. It’s apparently a day ride to the west on my new bike.” Scarlet’s eyebrow raised.    
  
“How’d you buy a bike? The prices here are nuts.” Yang debated for a moment, telling them that she’d broken the huntress that was all bark and no bite  _ through _ a couple of stands before securing the best bike at the stall.    
  
“I had some extra from working in Atlas.” True but not what happened. Her eyes shifted back to Illa. “So can you? I’ll stay safe, promise. I’ll be back before the end of the week.” Illa nodded carefully as Yang grinned. 

Scorpion King…..that’s the info she’d demanded to not burn the rest of the bikes. A powerful Faunus that kidnapped people, and  _ scorpion king _ popped up. Fifth King. Tyrian was found nice and easy. Yang hopped on the bike as she left, well, time to find this  _ asshole _ and beat out the information of where her family and friends were.


	22. Flights of Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-BEFORE MIDNIGHT!!!!!I MADE IT ON SATURDAY!!!!!!

The Grimm were everywhere, snarling, snapping his eyes were wide as he saw classmates, people that had been there this morning….as he saw….they were eaten, they were ripped apart, the blood stain on the ground was all that was left of them. _Fuck_. A team from Shade. He’d just beat them in Vytal before getting beat by Atlas. But it had been a hard fight, they were _good_ _fighters_ and their leader had been ripped apart by three different creatures. There was a snarl somewhere to the left of him and Executioner slammed out, connecting with, what was revealed to be a Beowulf as it dispersed. He didn’t have time to relax. There were more Grimm around than he could count and he took off to a large group of them, swinging without any real conscious thought. There wasn’t enough space in his mind to have any actual thought. There was _panic._ Not much else could fit. His mind was occupied. Not by the Grimm strangely.   
  
Russel-the green haired punk that never shut up. He had a bad habit of saying or doing anything to make people like him. And not just Cardin, _any_ person. Laughing at jokes, even ones about himself. He’d grown up an only child on the outskirts of Vale. Always alone and rambling to himself to ward off the feeling, he still had the habit. Rambling about absolutely nothing while he moved like a hummingbird and he still never managed to lose track while he was baking for them, trying to _impress_ them. Actually, that should have been his name. Hummingbird, not Thrush. He was always moving, always thinking, always active, laughing and joking. A smile on his face and blinking back tears at night worrying about his parents. He was just trying to better protect his parents, all the forgotten at the fringes. Compassionate. Was he joking now? Was he laughing as he buzzed through the Grimm? As easy and jovial as juggling eggs for his meringues?   
  
Dove-the stoic overly smart one. He read their history books for fun. Checked all their history homework...especially during the time Jaune did it. Jaune’s history grade probably _improved._ At first it was assumed that he just liked war history, but he liked the history of Remnant as a whole. He’d had a sister, Swan, and wanted to be a Huntsman to make her proud and it was still his goal even though she’d passed. She’d graduated Atlas top of her class. Her whole team had been elevated to specialist. It was only because she liked them she didn’t take the job as an Ace Op. Dove hadn’t gone to Atlas because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to live up to her legacy. He settled for being the best student in Beacon, acing every test and spending all his time studying or training. Softly proud, and he deserved to be with how hard he worked. The best on the team and willing to help everyone else reach their potential. He always had an answer to any question. Could he answer this?  
  
Sky-His fake friend from Mistral. He never blamed him when he found out the truth, that Sky was only friends with him so that his mom would hire Miss Lark as a secretary. Sky pretended to like all the same music and all the same books. Well, the music was a bust-their styles were too different, but he actually liked a lot of the books the redhead gave him. He was a lot softer when he was genuine. Snide comments turning into actual jokes, he knit...and crocheted. All of the team had oversized blankets from him. It was his stress relief, huge patches of mismatched nonsense that grew every time there was a test, or an assignment he couldn’t get through or he’d lost a spar because of what he perceived as a stupid mistake. He was too scared to run _to_ anything so he focused on his aim.The blue haired boy could be found singing softly as he lined up shots or knit with his eyes closed. He was a huntsman for the money, which was the worst reason, but he was trying. Had his trying been enough? Was his precision enough to avoid the Grimm? 

Cardin tore through Grimm like he was made for it. Maybe he was, his grandparents were Huntsmen. Great-Grandparents did so well in the Great war that they’d been mayors of the higher rings, even if they lost the war itself. He was made for battle. He could only hope he was made for a battle like this. Could only hope that the fucking hummingbird was darting around the Grimm and slicing them apart. Could only hope that the stoic tank, best in Beacon, was good enough. Had to  _ pray _ that the anxious little sensitive guy was able to power through it to keep himself safe. They had to be okay. 

Cardin looked up at a familiar shout. Russel was backed up with three Ursas surrounding him. Cardin took off in that direction, his aura breaking as he allowed a beowulf to slam him into a wall so he had a better angle to kill it before getting back on course. Russel activated his semblance and rushed past this own Ursa and up an arch. The three followed him, but he was smart, cracking the arch onto two of the beasts. …. And creating a hole that he fell in as he tumbled down. Cardin jumped on top of the Ursa that was trying to make a quick meal out of a sitting duck. Executioner came down and as the creature vanished, he found he was also in the hole...and that Russel wasn’t moving. He must have used the last of his aura on his semblance because he was breathing hard from the fall and his arm was at a bad angle. Cardin bent down to grab him as a Nevermore flew by, sending the other half of the arch crashing down on them ……………. the ground beneath them wasn’t stable, trapping them even further as it split due to the pressure still on the surface.    
  
Now they were covered. How far down were they? Cardin pushed Russel into a more comfy position for when he woke up and noted that his leg hurt…. _ really _ hurt. He probably shouldn’t put too much weight on it. He crawled up the hole and gently tapped Executioner at the top. Not too far, they were only a few feet beneath the surface. “HEY CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!!!!” He called. There were the sounds of Grimm everywhere………….... He went back to Russel to check on his breathing. And tried to will his own down. One. He had to get out of this hole to find Sky and Dove. Sky was trying to make money to send home to his mom. That was noble. He should be allowed to do that. And Dove. Dove had to make his sister proud. He was the best student at Beacon for a reason. Cardin tried to regulate his breathing….and noticed that Russel wasn’t…..SHIT …………..   
  
That arm was probably going to need to be in a cast for a few weeks when his aura started back up. Right now Cardin was using  _ ALL _ of his limited first aid training to try and get Russel breathing again. They needed him, on the fringes, where most people forgot. He needed to be a huntsmen on the fringes. “HELP” Cardin called again. “HE NEEDS HELP! PLEASE HE NEEDS HELP OR MEDICATION! HE’S NOT BREATHING”................... Cardin coughed at the end of his and noticed, to his horror, he wasn’t breathing that much. The air was heavy and stale. Fuck. Oh god. Oh  **_NO_ ** . How long had they been down here? A few minutes right? Cardin scrambled on himself for his scroll. It was cracked…. But the dim light…..twenty minutes. How??? Moving was bad now. More bad….how had it gotten this bad? He started climbing up again ………….. He realized it that time, he’d woken up in a different position that time, sliding down. Checking his scroll, he’d been passing out. DAMN IT. NO!!!! He had to stay awake. He had to help his team. He was the leader He had to get them out. Or he was nothing but a failure. He was failing everyone. He couldn’t fail. They couldn’t die like this!    
  
“Cardin?” Cardin turned to see Russel sitting up and staring at him. He rushed back down to his teammate and gave him a hug as sunlight broke through the roof. Sky and Dove. He knew by the silhouettes! He gave a strangled cry and pulled away from Russel...only then noticing that his skin had turned inky black. Cardin scrambled back from the red eyed creature that he’d mistaken as his teammate. The Russel Grimm smiled wide, rows upon razor sharp teeth. “Cardin. This is the cost of your failure.” And he scrambled again, to Dove and Sky, who he now noticed were dead, eyes glassy as they were held, puppeted by the Grimm that had pulled him out just to taunt him “Enjoy your  _ failure”  _ _  
_ _  
_   
Indigo eyes flew open as the man sat up, heart racing and a scream getting caught in the bile of his throat. He was sick with panic, the same nightmare he’d had since the fall of Beacon. He scrambled out of the Atlas academy bed, shirt stuck to him with the pile of sweat he’d produced, practically drowning himself. He took shaky steps back, his leg spasming due to phantom pains caused from his mind more than an actual issue with it. He went to the other side of the room, where he had a full view of the beds. Dove. Sky. Russel. They were okay. Three boys in bed all breathing evenly. A hand ran through burnt orange hair and he grabbed his cracked scroll from where it was charging before he locked himself in the bathroom and played the message    
  
“ _ Yo Car-Bar. If you’re listening to this it means you had a nightmare. Yeah, thought that may happen which is why I sent you this. In for eight out for four. Actually do it!.....repeat…..and again!” _ Cardin couldn’t help the shakey laugh that was pulled from him as he actually started to follow the breathing advice.  _ “Alright are you breathing now? This is a recording so I’m going to hope that’s a yes. You need to calm down your mind if it’s racing. Remember what actually happened. I don’t what your head is saying this time, DUH, I’m not near you. But remember dude. I was there. My team got yours out. Get Russ. He’ll be pissed if you try to ‘I can handle this’ on your own. Your team likes you!” _   
  
  
He did actually remember. Just from her voice, which dragged him back to Beacon. …. Russel  _ had _ ended up in a hole….and he’d wound up down there with him, trying to get him out. Adrenaline had kept him from actually passing out. Adrenaline and fear. They were quickly running out of air.

**_THE FALL OF BEACON_ **

Executioner swung again and again. Cardin’s head was starting to spin and there were tears in his eyes. Behind him. Russel’s breathing was getting slower. “HELP!!!!!” Cardin shouted again. It was a terrible loop. The more frantic he became, the more the Grimm were drawn to them. The more the Grimm were drawn the less anyone wanted to go over to help. He should’ve called this for the lost cause it was, ordered a retreat. But instead he’d sent his team to do damage minimization and rescue. Now where were they? Dead or dying and it was all his fault. He could hear the frenzied cries from above them, feel the ground shaking with the Grimm. His world was narrowed to lazerpoint focuses of the boy behind him, the one it was his duty to save, and the impossible task layed out in front of him of blindly attacking with no hope of actually-   
  
“ _ I know that voice _ ” Was he still yelling? He couldn’t tell. Not through his own choked tears. There were the sounds of footsteps, the rumblings of larger footsteps. Then….nothing. Fuck. Holy Fuck the one person that had heard him was dead. There was no more hope. He “IF YOU COULD CALM DOWN AND STOP CALLING THEM  **_DICKMUCH_ ** ” Cardin’s breath, what little he had, caught at the voice, it sounded like hope.

It was still another minute until life saving oxygen poured into the cave and he looked up at a figure he couldn’t process. Arms. Two arms were hoisting the arch from where it had fallen…..two more arms braced the slab of concrete on the other side….and two arms were outstretched towards him. Even without detail...he  **knew** her. How could he not when he got her expelled from their school. When he dated her brother? When they’d been pen pals until he found out what she was? He recoiled at first, sure she was angry. But then his brain caught up with him and he crawled backwards into the cavern.    
  
“CARDIN YOU NEED HELP YOU DUMB FUCK! GET OVER YOUR FAUNUS SHIT AND LET ME FUCKIN-” The girl, who had started screaming at him the moment he backed up, stopped suddenly as Cardin brought forward a bloody young man with his arm twisted out of position.    
  
“Meds” And unseen to him, she frowned, her whole posture changing with the motion, not liking the heavy quality his voice had taken. “Russ. Take him. Needs…...Meds…...I…...good…..Russ” He was begging her now, as best he could dealing with his own issues.    
  
“You push, I’ll pull” The six armed woman said, and together they managed to guide Russel into her free arms. “I’ll be **right back** ” she swore and Cardin couldn’t argue against the nod, more like a broken neck than a true acknowledgement. Russel was safe. At least  _ one _ team member had made it out of this horror show alive. He knew in his heart he could trust her for that. Even if not about coming back for him. She let the walls go and they went crashing back on him. Perhaps a little harsher then they had been before, sealing his fate. He crumbled in the cavern. He only felt the shaking ground. Russel was alright. What about Dove? What about Sky? What was  _ wrong _ with him? How did he let it get this far? Why did he think putting his team in this was a good idea? If they died it was his fault. It was his fault if Sky couldn’t support his mom. It was his fault if-

  
  
The roar he heard was way to close. Right. Grimm fed on negative emotions. He wasn’t helping anyone like this. Cardin took deep breaths forcing himself to calm down….as much as he could at least. He was wound like a spring. He had to trust a girl whose life he  **ruined** to save him. Fuck. He hadn’t actually  _ seen _ her in about...fuck….how long had it been? The first time he’d met her...he was eight. She was about the third Faunus he’d ever seen and she...had held out one of her arms in friendship…..and he got her expelled for it. She’d been his pen pal for years. She introduced him to his now ex….just a ‘P.S. my brother saw your pic. He thinks you’re cute’..... He’d dated Vyyrydyn for two years before he’d learned that the other boy was a Faunus. ….. She should have hurt him then, for nearly barbecuing her brother. That was two years ago….two years since his mom had managed to completely chase her family out of Haven as a whole. ...two years since she’d gone to Shade and her family moved to….he never even knew where. And now she was all that was standing between Russel and a morgue. …. He didn’t even know her anymore….he’d….never  _ bothered  _ to get to know her. Just...through a page…..he didn’t  _ let _ himself get to know her too well and now….she was….he didn’t even know what she was like. He remembered her though….quiet and shy and brushing too long hair out of her face before offering one of her six spindly arms in friendship, hand outstretched as another pulled back too long lilac hair falling from her ponytail into her sharp face... 

  
  
“And here I was  **_worried._ ** You scream so loud I could find you  _ blindfolded _ .” Cardin blinked blearily at the light as four powerful arms once again lifted the opening. The arm that reached out to him…. He saw it and didn’t see it at the same time. A little eight year old nearly shaking as she extended a hand, a shaky smile on her face as she introduced herself. He didn’t take the hand back then...recoiling as his mother had when she saw a Faunus working in the high end boutique she’d boycotted and slandered. But he took the hand this time, accepting the help he’d denied so long ago. … and she pulled him up out of the darkness. 

“Vyylt?” Her left middle arm wound around his waist, even as her right middle arm continued to pull him away from the hole he’d been trapped in. Once he was clear she was free to drop the shit back down. Her upper left arm went to cradle Cardin’s head. “‘M sorry” He didn’t register that he was slurring. She transferred his arm from her hand to over her shoulders  _ and _ her hands, both upper and lower right grabbing onto him for extra stability. She was speaking...but he couldn’t register it. “You were ‘lwa’s nice to me. And you didn’t….didn’t deserve.” He was only mildly aware of the fact that she was moving pretty quickly, even with him weighing her down. The last time he’d seen her she’d been...so small… “‘M sorry. Yu….were sweet…..n….n I c’llled you a m’nstr. ….you….. Not inta chicks, you….real pretty...had nice hair.” 

Vyylt was doing her deep breathing exercises. She winced, even as low as she could put it, all she could here were screams. She  _ unfortunately  _ needed the Grimm to go to  _ them _ and not her….at least for now. She’d get to them later. Right now she had a problem...a  _ big _ problem. Cardin was built like a  _ Tree _ ….and was bleeding profusely. His arm wasn’t too bad, some light bruising and a scrape, but he was able to hold onto his mace without issue. His eyes were unfocused and he just kept  _ complimenting _ her. She cradled his head as she half sprinted to the medical tent. Him complimenting her was better than him  _ sleeping _ while bleeding profusely from his head. She kept two arms free, one to fire if anything tried to stop her….the second she was using now, jamming in the code to the tent area, where the distress of the injured would otherwise be a Grimm Magnet. But it was done, she was dragging him….he was apologizing again, crying now.    
  
“Chair, Head wound. He needs Artificial Aura. Same team as Green and Blue” Her tone was clipped as she spoke to the medical staff. Even in here she could hear it. She loaded up her charge on a chair and sighed, the screaming getting worse as the Grimm did. As she tried to go...she was stopped by the iron grip on her right lower wrist. “Car?”    
  
“Sorry. Sorry sore...wuz….you were nice…” His eyes were unfocused but he was slipping into what would be the last nap of his life. As a test, she pulled that arm back. He didn’t seem to understand. Like a toddler with a Teddy Bear he gripped her wrist and pulled it too himself. On the plus side, he wasn’t headed to sleep anymore, eyes wide and desperate as apologies fell from his lips like water. A few members of the medical team chuckled at the sight. And Vyylt sighed in defeat. A chair was bought for her as well as Cardin was hooked up to an IV drip of artificial aura. His drip was for injuries...she’d steal some to power her semblance when she ran back out. For now….   
  
“You know…” And she tried to pull her arm away again, causing his eyes to flutter as he poured out another litany of half formed apologies for...honestly  _ everything _ he’d ever done to her. It was mostly to keep him awake….she  _ had _ to keep him awake. “I have other things to do...then baby sit your ass Red.” Her words were said with a soft smirk as she looked over at him.    
  
“Thank you.” Her attention was grabbed ever slightly by the bluenette her teammate Taupe had picked up. He was in the corner. They tried to keep teams together. The bluenette was on a chair, his leg up as artificial aura worked with his own to fix the break. “My team. I mean...I”    
  
“It’s chill” He blinked at her. “I couldn’t ignore them…. _ literally _ ...my semblance. I heard you screaming….I know him.” She paused to glance at Cardin, who was taking deep breaths, but more importantly, had the first signs of flickering aura. Her attention turned back to Sky. He was staring but trying…. “You’re worrying about how to word something which is  **_stupid_ ** . Just say it.” She paused for a second to think. “If you’re wondering about my semblance-sensitivity. I hear distress. The worse the louder. You were screaming before I got to you.” Sky blinked and opened his mouth again, she cut him off again. “No not everything you think.” She answered his unspoken worry. “Just what causes you distress. That’s all.” Sky cut out completely as, next to him the green haired boy started to groan, his distress broken. After all, blondie had been  _ put _ into a coma to keep him from tearing out with no aura to find his team. Vyylt blinked and gave a breath. She looked next to her, where Cardin had stopped  _ bleeding _ at the very least, focused on nothing, but fully awake. 

“Are there” He looked around and noted that his team was...alright. “how bad was I?” The Green one was way better off than expected, already leaning up and questioning Sky.. “I needed….a whole _ team  _ to get me out. He ruffled his mohawk as he scratched his head...and Vyylt couldn’t help the cuckle.    
  
“That was me.” She said, standing up so she could be seen, waving her five free arms. Russel’s eyes widened, as did Cardin’s as he finally gained the ability to think again. The Vyylt he remembered was the smallest kid in class, a  _ shrinking _ violet that managed to hide in too big sweaters that couldn’t actually hide her extra arms, lilac hair and matching eyes-wide and frightened and too big for her sharp face. She’d looked like a stiff wind would  **_snap_ ** her into several pieces. Well….her eyes were still lilac.    
  
Vyylt Tendàće of the  _ present  _ was about six feet of  **_SOLID MUSCLE_ ** . Each of her arms looked like she did reps with  _ trees _ they were so large, sleeveless as if they’d fall off if she flexed to hard.. Her legs weren’t far behind. Her hair was an asymmetric cut, indigo spikes on the left and only falling chin length on the right. Each of her arms was a canvas, tattoos spiraling in bright colors along her blue tinted dark skin as they were hidden by gloves of various colors and heights. The only thing they had in common was their lack of fingers, which made a bit of sense when you registered the rings on each finger, glowing with dust as the deadly sharp talons curved around her natural fingers. Her smile was bright, bold and  _ wild _ as she tossed her head back and laughed at the lost look on Cardin’s face. “I hope all those  _ nice words _ ” She teased. “Weren’t  _ just  _ about my pretty hair. But hey, if you can think of something nice without scaring me half to death that’s awesome.” The only makeup she seemed to have on was red lipstick, highlighted by the black labret and right madonna piercings. She turned around, intense eyes resting on Russel as the three studs in her eyebrow rose in confusion. “You’re the  _ quietest  _ person I’ve ever met just so you know” Her middle arms crossed over her flat chest, unhelped by the high collar of her deep purple shirt.She was looking at him and waiting for him to speak 

….and Russel….who had pretty much only dated guys up until that point, mostly cause girl’s had the most annoying voices ever and were either soft or crazy and way too high pitched…..Russel wasn’t in  _ distress _ , hence the lack of sound, as he was struck with the sudden realization that this woman was only a foot shorter but seemingly just as strong as his last crush and actually yeah, that was a great thought. Yatsuhashi and this girl in a flex off. She could probably crush him…..she could  _ throw  _ him into the stratosphere. And not to mention cuddles. He opened his mouth and the only thing that tumbled out was the sudden revelation.    
  
“I’m Bi” He registered that it was wrong almost as soon as he said it...mostly because Sky jerked to cover his mouth before he burst into laughter and  _ Cardin _ gave him a look like he’d sealed his own doom. So….he tried to fix it. “I MEAN HI!!!!!” And Vyylt smirked at him… “I’m Russel?” He tried at last.   
  
  


**_PRESENT DAY_ **

  
Cardin gave a sigh. Vyylt had been jumping in and out of the tent with her team, injecting far more artificial aura than was healthy. He and Russel were just two she’d gotten out personally. May Zedong, Ginger Storm, Nolan Porfirio, Osiris Hax, Nadir Shiko, Ciel Soleil, Emilie Autumn, Gwen Darcy and….six more he hadn’t caught the name of. She’d insisted on going back out there….he’d gone to watch her back….it had been the least he could do...so he thought….they were pen pals again. And he’d been more or less  **_forced_ ** to get a book buddy….all those years ago….she’d offered her hand because he’d been screaming for a friend….he was still lonely.    
  
“Cardin!” The shout came right before Russel’s frantic knocking. “Are you okay? You’re not having bad thoughts right? I took the razors out of the bathroom so don’t you  _ think _ about it!!!” He huffed a quiet laugh at the sound of his partner worrying. “ _ I think I did...no I did” _ ….he…. _ did not _ . Cardin could see the silver glint from where Russel had convinced Dove to hide them on top of the mirror… “Cardin?!” The voice was worried now. “SKY! CARDIN’S IN THE BATHROOM!”    
  
“Am I not allowed to take a shit?” Cardin demanded as he slammed the door open. Sky was already out of bed, weapon in hand as if he meant to stab the door down…..he  _ had _ once before. Dove slept like a rock while he slept so it was pretty telling that he was fighting off his exhaustion to sit up in the bed. Once he saw Cardin was unharmed he flopped back down. No one blamed him...Dove hadn’t slept more than half an hour at a time since the fall. Russel’s shoulders were moving, he’d been halfway to hyperventilation. Sky yawned and headed back to bed, nodding as he saw that his team was still whole.    
  
“I woke up and wanted food” Russel said it as if he  _ needed  _ an explanation. He  **_always_ ** wanted food. His semblance burned through his metabolism. Cardin didn’t bother changing out of his pajamas. A cursory glance at the time told him that they were too early for breakfast anyway. “And I thought we could talk”    
  
“Just taking a shit...nothing to talk about.” Cardin shrugged. He didn’t want to drag Russel into his head.    
  
“Bullshit” The bluish brown eyes narrowed in anger. “You only take your scroll with you if it’s a panic thing.” He looked away. “We don’t go down to talk to Miss Joannha for another three days. I wanted to know” His words fumble to a stop as Cardin tosses an arm around him for a quick side hug.    
  
“I’m….” He sighs, committing to the truth instead of the ‘fine’ he was going to say. “I had the dream again” …. Vyylt had approached him because he was lonely….had given him Shade’s address and her scroll number for if the coms ever went up again, before his aunt came to pick him up...he was still screaming, according to her, about being lonely. But...with Russel forcing him to talk as they headed to the vending machines before the school woke up….he felt a little less alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is MOSTLY for my friend James ngl. Hope I did your boys right hun. Also, if you want to know how Vyylt sounds....think a cross between Barret Willard Weed (Veronica on B-way Heathers) and George Salazar (Michel Mell Be More Chill) ..... specifically their *laughs*.


	23. Solar Flare on the lense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I changed the order of this chapter and then had to run around and *finish* it. And also, Why is it that like 90% of stories with Sunny Bees it's Sun and Yang dealing with each other to date Blake? NOPE! we're doing *FULL* polyamory here with all the partners together (though Poly where not everyone in the polycule is with everyone else is still valid I just don't like writing it cause I'm a lonely bitch irl and it makes me sad) But yes, everything in this chap is a Solar Flare ref. (down to the name of the chick that gets Yang put on Circuit)

Sun sighed as he rested….for  _ once _ . He had to go back to school soon. His status let him get away with a lot but if he didn’t attend for too long he ran the risk of his team losing the protection of the third and getting tossed on Circut. He was strong.. Was he strong enough to protect everyone? He’d claimed them- including Illa-but while that was good for normals, they were walking targets to any one other the other kings. Second had been losing power. 

  
His scroll started ringing with a Circuit alert. He rolled his eyes. He wasn’t looking for anyone, which had the side effect of everyone but his king thinking he was crazy. Luckily, King Maize took it at face value and just wished him luck with whatever outsider he was hooked on. The thought was laughable. The girl he was  _ hooked  _ on so to speak was…..He sighed as he thought of Blake-smart, quiet, withdrawn…..but also a crazy idiot when the mood struck her.

He’d seen her….that’s how he ended up on that boat. He’d seen the panic on her face when she woke up in the med tent, when she looked at Yang...he’d seen the devastation…...and the guilt. It had come down to a choice. Stay with Yang….let her know that he’d be there for her because he was her friend and being there for one another was what friends did…..or go drag Blake back, kicking and screaming if needed, to force her to understand that whatever happened hadn’t been her fault. That he knew she could, not would but  _ could never  _ hurt Yang like that.    
  
Yang was on a stretcher with her uncle at her side. He’d asked for the address. The plan was to go and bully Blake into going to see Yang. The plan was to air out everything and let them talk it over. The plan was to be the best friend he could be by not letting a horrific tragedy, the fault of  _ neither of them _ destroy their friendship. The first problem he’d had was tracking Blake. Her sneaking was pretty good on a regular but  _ paranoid  _ sneaking. She was the most  **_ninja_ ** to ever not somehow star in a movie with too many wires.    
  
Ninja or no, he was  _ very _ good at what he did. You didn’t make it into a King’s family if you weren't good at a few things. Breaking locks, winning fights, intimidation, infiltration, calling bluffs, tracking both prey and enemies over large distances…...not that Blake was prey or enemy. The ruins of Vale were just no match for him. Not even the super ninja was able to hide when she got on the boat. She’d gotten a new outfit to disguise herself too. But he hadn’t been deterred from his plan to bring her back to Patch and let her talk things over with Yang before misplaced guilt and anger destroyed both of them.    
  
That  _ had _ been the plan. He followed her onto the boat and then she got lost in the crowd and even when she was being  **_crazy_ ** she was scary smart. He caught sight of her but before he could grab her…..the boat started moving…...he’d had just enough time to call Neptune and ask him to cover.  _ Weirdly _ , having grown up in a dessert….he couldn’t exactly  _ swim _ . While he wasn’t afraid of it like Neptune, he knew for a fact that he’d sink if he had to be in there for too long.  _ AND _ he still had the address for Patch so he’d get her to turn around. He’d assumed she was on some sort of catharsis pound of flesh retribution mission for Yang. He was there to make her understand that at present, Yang needed her there  _ with  _ her rather than going to get revenge for her.    
  
He’d seen another side to Blake as her hooks went further into him. Scared and lost and frightened, but  _ oh so resilient  _ through it all. The second she had a cause her fire was back and burning brighter than ever as she’d banded the people of Menagerie together to chase away a monster. He’d been overjoyed just to be able to help her….to be able to bask in some of her brilliant light as she strategized like she was  _ born  _ for it. It made him want to give her the world, just to see her handle everything. Cause she could and she’d be  _ brilliant _ .   
  
He was shaken out of his musing by his scroll going off. A call rather than a circuit alert. He frowned. Illa? What did she want? He answered the call.    
  
“SUN!” He was sitting up at once, clutching at the scroll at the panic in her voice. What the fuck. He was about a half day away from the school. He reached for his weapon at once. “We have a problem. Check your Circuit alert!” His throat  _ burned _ . Students usually had their circuit alarms deactivated the first time they went to class. He belonged to a king so his was still up, and Illa had never entered a classroom-for good reason. If they found out she was technically on Circuit they’d  _ steal  _ her for a king or to get noticed by one. Because of that she was the only one in Shade with an alarm at the moment.    
  
His eyes widened and he cursed at the description. Name-unknown. Hair-blonde. Semblance-hair lit on fire and hit like a truck. Defeated- Solaria Flar’rred of third king. Notable features-color changing eyes, purple to red. Missing arm-headed to King Carmine by bike-best in shop from a curio chain. ‘ **Bomb** ’ Shell.

Claim pending- King Carmine(Diablo), King Anton(Findlay). Family-Merabeth. Family-Zarketh. Family-Flinnt. 

“WHY DID YOU LET HER RUN OFF !!!!” Though he couldn’t see him, Sun practically  _ felt _ Neptune flinching. He sighed out some of his anger. “If I’m not back with her by the end of the day tomorrow tell Rumpole I was on assignment.” He groaned as he ran off, using the rooftops to jump off between everything. He should've known this would happen. He should've known this  _ exact  _ terrible scenario would happen and asked Neptune to stay on babysitting duty if  _ Yang Xaoi-Long _ somehow ended up at Shade.. He could have set his non-existent  _ watch _ to this happening and the WORST POSSIBLE PLACE!!! She was headed to fifth. Luckily he'd heard about it before it was a thing. Well,  **more** of a thing.

‘ Blonde bombshell missing an arm had punched out one of the best fighters from Abyss where they'd been the seller guard for a bike. They'd fought, she won, and now three different families wanted her, which would have been bad enough without one of them being the third family of the 5th king. If they get Yang it'd be a WAR to even  _ see _ her again let alone get her out of Vacuo safely.’ That was the text he sent to his personal family  _ Dammit Yang.  _ With another few clicks he added himself to her Claim pending. King Maiz(Wu-Kong). He already knew everyone was shocked that  _ he  _ wanted anyone. It was less to claim her and more that he had rights to fight anyone that tried to claim her. First things first-find…….The alarm went off 

**Claim in progress**

Oh hell no. 

Sun leapt across the rooftops again. Luckily she was being courted in the Amiss district. It was where the Fifth and Second Kings had their pissing contests, so he’d already been there.  _ Un _ fortunately, the Second had grown weak according to the rumors. That meant that the Diablo  _ snakes _ were out to play. But more importantly, this was one of the few settlements. The buildings were actually set into the sand and he could leap off of the pulley system ropes to get higher. Looking over 'The Marketplace' he saw... 

Two, Three, four more coming from the sidelines. Ten. Ten people were crowding the boisterous blonde. She was demanding information, making herself look even more  _ stunning _ . Sun gave a sigh, smile forming on his lips….then he remembered Blake….and he shuddered before wiping his mind of any of  _ those  _ thoughts. Had she been a born Vacuan it would have been fine, but they'd made it very clear in Haven. That type of behavior, of thinking....it was  **_wrong_ ** . 

Still. He kickflipped off the roof to land by her. Nothing against the rules about helping out a friend. 

"Hey blondie" He grinned at her. “What're you doing around here?" He didn't take his weapon off of his back. Not yet. If they thought she was  _ already  _ claimed for the Second King they may just back off and he might be able to  _ keep _ a friend. The note had been put up by an onlooker. He didn’t need to check his scroll to know that it had changed to ‘claim interrupted.’ 

His team was already wary. They weren't supposed to be here, but maybe he'd be able to save Yang as a friend. Just one friend, maybe one ‘more than friend’ if Blake could ever look at him. Didn’t know how that was going, if he’d managed to hide away the worst parts of himself fully... but  **_focus._ ** … not his strong suit. 

“Hey Blondie” She countered, looking at the growing crowd in mild concern. “I um... _ may  _ have stolen a bike cause the price was way too high and I got a lead on the Scorpion Ass that kidnaped Jaune’s team and my uncle. Seems like they’re gonna try and get a piece of me to get it back.” Sun couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him “What?”    


“Oh um….Vacuo joke. You didn’t steal the bike. Not if you fought for it.”    


“What are  _ you _ doing here  _ WuKong” _ Ah,  _ 12 _ , wondered where Zircon and Pyrite were. The sisters stepped out. Zircon, younger, bounced as she moved, seaweed green hair bouncing as her shoulders touched her chin. In her overly fancy gold dress, trailing on the ground and sleeves swallowing her hands. You’d think she couldn’t fight in it at first glance….make that mistake and you wouldn’t get a second glance.  _ Pyrite  _ was the easy target. The older and slower of the two, her wrap dress looked like seaweed itself, so low cut it barely hid the important bits and so high one good kick would be flashing people, a strategic choice. Her arms and legs were wrapped in the same shade of gold as her long braids. Better late than never. Never meant the two would  _ follow _ . The weapon still didn’t come out. He rotated his head once and firmly, keeping Yang behind him as he stepped forward, letting some of the danger into his grin.    


“Pyrite. Zircon. My two least favorite people. I’m collecting.” He lied easily. “Shade student from the third. Not on circut. Bringing it back where it belongs.” Yang had enough common sense to put her hands on the bike. Good. Hopefully she’d run off and let him handle this.    


“Sorry if I don’t believe you. You just want her for yourself. Besides, Shade’s gotta pay a tithe for stepping out of line.” Pyrite crowed, sticking near her sister, matching grins wide as their matching mismatched eyes sparkled. Zircon bounced a bit at that.    


“So does Second.” She agreed. “This Marketplace is being taken over by King Carmine!  _ Sorry _ ” She didn’t sound sorry at all, and he chuckled a bit….until she continued. “After all, the would be King’s fallen to Haven. Since you’ve got no power, neither does Second. So we’ll be taking the blondeshell.”    


“You’re not taking me _ anywhere _ !” Yang protested.    


“Get on the bike and ride. I’ll handle this.” Yang paused. Those words coming form say, her Uncle Qrow, would normally be serious and worried. Sun sounded like he was holding back laughter. It was odd enough to stop her even though this was obviously a serious situation. She didn’t like how outnumbered they were, or the fact that the shop keeps and their guards were leering at her and exchanging money.    


“I’m not going anywhere until I get the information I came here for.” She took her hands off the bike and folded her arms. She wasn’t about to leave her friend and let him get hurt. The bouncing kid, probably a few years younger than Ruby, came forward, eyes shining. But it was the seaweed one, a few years older than Yang herself, that spoke.   
“How about a deal. You beat us, you get the information. We win, we get _you_.” Yang’s blood went cold. She wasn’t even sure what that meant, but the leering got worse. It was the same sort of rule just to get the bike. But that had been a one on one fight and she _never_ lost those. Here there were ten other people moving towards her as well. Sun’s leg swept out, a smooth motion that allowed his body to guard her own as he adjusted his weight..   


“Sorry” She could  _ see _ his slightly unhinged grin now. “She’s from Vale. Unclaimed and under the protection of the Second so she stays that way. Shade student. You’ll have to go through  _ me.  _ And King Carmine would be so  _ displeased  _ if you lost The Marketplace from his territory. So you're better off running away, before I get bored enough to take out all your little toys and you while I’m at it.” Yang recounts. Twelve of them, one of him. These weren't goons or anything. She could see weapons on them, unhinged grins like the one Sun was sporting.    


“You haven’t been the same since Minstral” Pyrite crowed. “Good enough for your little  _ friends _ . Terrible for us.” She thought, then her grin got wider. “Actually,  _ great  _ for us. We’ll beat your ass and take Sector seventeen  _ and _ the blonde. Seems like an even price for you bothering us and talking shit you can’t follow through on.”    


“Haven’t been the same since Mistral?” Yang asked. This place was officially crazy. And Sun looked…. _ odd _ . His grin was too wide on his face, and he’d started trembling the same way Ruby did when cookies were almost out of the oven.    


“Yang?” His voice was still pleasant...but  _ restrained _ . “Please take your bike to the corner and close your eyes till I say to open them.” Lavender eyes narrowed in confusion. “ _ Please _ ?” He insisted. She couldn’t recall him saying anything as seriously as his current pleading, so she obeyed, probably for the tenth time in almost 20 years of life. She wheeled the bike to the side and a guard woman stepped aside so that she could rest her new… _ ’Purchase’ _ against...were those lungs? Eww.    


“What’s going on?” She asked the guard, whom turned to her with an appreciative look.

“You are  _ interesting  _ Vale girl.” She grinned “Caused a stir. All anyone can think of is getting you for their family. Three minors and two King…. _ three  _ Kings apparently. Which is weird. Second’s been sending Carnage ever since WuKong lost his steam. It’s resulted in a massive power shift.”

“I’m sorry  _ what”  _ The Guard grinned widely.   


“YANG!” And she looked up to Sun’s worried face. “Eyes please!” The Guard chuckled and Yang held up both hands, turning around for good measure. Hell is she was gonna  _ stay  _ turned. She counted exactly sixty seconds. Even that felt like way too long with all of the battle cries and gunshots she heard. She turned back around to see…... _ oh _ _   
_ _   
_ Sun spun on his heel, letting the person that was attacking him with an axe miss him completely, his other leg coming around plant his calf in their sternum and send them flying into another person. As he did that his staff swung in an arc behind him, knocking three people to the ground. A fourth jumped at him as he bowed, letting them sail over him while he turned his staff to it’s nunchucks form. One went to his right hand, firing a volley at the now prone person in front of him. Another person tried to rush him from behind but his tail wrapped around their wrists, tightly apparently. They dropped their shield on their own foot, causing their aura to flicker. It went out completely as his tail fired the gunchuck it held thrice into their face. His left hand was holding the wrists of another attacker, and he grinned sadistically as he squeezed hard enough to short their Aura out, finally letting his other foot hit the ground. .    
  
“FUCK YOU!!!!!!” Zircon was flickering short range teleportation maybe, sais from her sleeves were in her hands as she lunged at him from...his  _ front _ ? Terrible idea. He seemed to think so too, laughing brightly as his tail threw the victim at her. He did have to back up as she glitched past the person rather than letting them hit her. She swiped and motioned for another one of her goons, this one with a spiked dagger. Sun jumped backwards, landing on his hands and propelling himself unto the shoulders of the would be attacker. Powerful thighs wrapped around the man’s throat, and even as he stabbed at Sun’s leg, it seemed like the monkey faunus hadn’t gotten very hurt because it didn’t  **_do_ ** anything, getting stabbed. He fired both gunchucks at Zircon, whom flashed out of the way again, screaming.    
  
Sun took her scream as a signal to recombine his staff and use it to flip off of the man’s shoulders. Not a second too late. Where he’d just been was stabbed through in the air by silver tipped gold hair. Pyrite looking pissed off as her semblance missed. Sun made  _ part  _ of himself a target, wrapping his tail around the throat of his old unwilling piggyback ride as he used the rest of the guy as a human….well, Rhino faunus judging by that skin, shield. His staff spun as he kept Circon from landing a proper hit, but all to soon Rhino’s aura went out and a moment after that, he slumped over.    
  
Didn’t seem like the gems liked that. Pyrite was moving now, getting closer for better range. Closer to the butt of his staff at least, until Zicon flickered into existence on top of it, a scream as she went to plunge her Sai into Sun’s face.    


**_*BANG BANG*_ ** **_  
  
_ **

Zircon’s aura flickered out and she fell over from two direct hits to the back of the head from Ember Celica. Pyrite screamed in rage, eyes rising to see.    


“YANG!” Sun shouted! “YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING!!!” At once his posture shifts into a  _ ‘proper _ ’ fighting stance and, seeing how he fights when he’s doing what he wants, the ‘losing steam’ comment makes more sense. He’s too stiff, unable to move and... she chanced a look at the people on the ground. Some of them were probably actually dead. No, some of them were  _ definitely  _ dead. He’d fired Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang on people that had lost their aura. He’d killed them and killers were “LOOK OUT!”    
  


She’d been distracted by casual slaughter. She hadn’t seen the murderous look directed at her from Pyrite and Sun had jumped in front of her and gotten silver spiked hair to the chest. He sank to the ground, Aura shorting out.    


“Ohhhh, too bad for Wukong” Pyrite sneared. “One pathetic Vale girl against best in her class at Abyss Academy. The smirk turned mocking. “You can quit now. No one would blame you for wanting to come over to the side of the best.” Her eyes lidded. “I’ll treat you  _ real _ well.” Okay,  _ something _ was going on here but this was where the ‘Scorpion King’ had been when she asked so it was her best lead and she  _ really  _ didn’t like this chick or the fact that with every stare she felt grimy in a way that had nothing to do with the sand or dust around here.    


“Is that so?” She asked, fluttering her eyes at Pyrite and sashaying over. “In  _ that _ case….” And Pyrite’s smile was  **_so_ ** smug that she didn’t notice Yang raising her metal arm to produce one  _ GOOD  _ punch to her jaw. The woman stumbled back, as did Yang. Before Pyrite’s mouth even screwed up to give the typical ‘ _ you’ll pay for that’ _ scream, the bomb Yang had placed went off. Give the woman credit, a full explosion on her face hadn’t  _ quite _ knocked all of her aura out. Pyrite SCREAMED…...and Sun laughed from his place on the ground. Yang stepped in front of him, fist raised and a smirk. “He had to deal with ten goons on his own. Common., You and me. Let’s see how you do when someone’s not tired.” Lavender eyes turned blood red and Pyrite….wasn’t quite  _ stupid _ . She gave a  **_FERAL_ ** sounding screech and turned to carry her sister away. Or….she seemed too. A few steps away and her hair reactivated. Had Yang gone and lowered her guard, the sneak attack may have actually done something. As it was, the blonde grabbed the braids and  _ pulled _ , sending the older woman onto her back as her aura flickered from being dragged by her hair.    
  
“RETREAT!!!!” The order was said in a panic from the slight of demon red eyes and a smirk like hell.    
  
  


* * *

  
  
“HA! Oh her  _ face _ ” Sun was in good Spirits as Yang walked over to help him up and onto her new bike. He was using his staff as a sort of walking stick while he waited for  _ some  _ aura to come back and she noticed that All but two of the people he sent down scrambled up to chase after Pyrite, their tails between their legs. Literally in the case of one wolf girl. She loaded him on the bike and raised her eyebrows.    


“So….what was  _ that? _ ” At once he flushed, looking down and fiddling with his hands as he refused to meet her eyes.   


“Sorry. I….I know, fighting like that is Savage. I went to Haven to try and  _ fix  _ that I just….don’t hate me.” He was pleading, and she noticed his bright blue eyes had faded to stormcloud grey.    


“ _ Hate you? _ ” She asked. “Wait  _ what _ Savage? What are you talking about?” His gaze finally met hers as she turned around to make sure he was securely behind her on the bike, guiding his arms to wrap around her cause she didn’t trust him not to fall off while he was this hurt. “That was  _ brutal. _ ” He flinched. “But like….equal parts  _ amazing _ . You looked like you were  _ dancing _ dude!” He blushed and….she might have had one too. He  _ had _ looked like he was dancing, a deadly waltz with a devil may care grin. “I’m  _ so  _ telling that you’re that flexible.” The bright bark of laughter was what she wanted to hear and she felt some of his tense additude leak away. “What were you doing over here anyway? Apparently there’s some shit going down at Shade and you vanished...again if Scarlet’s any indication”   


“Had to answer a call from my family. I would’ve been back already but I heard word that you were over here.” She flushed. Oh…. _ opps _ “Go left. It’s going to get dark soon and you don’t wanna be in the desert at night. Especially with an injured person. The Grimm and the people and….trust me. We’re gonna crash at my place” Yang looked up at the setting sun.    


“Will they be alright with a guest? Ya gotta call em.” She asked as she turned the bike into another village. He laughed.    


“When you got involved back there you kind of became family. Especially knocking King Carmine off the turf of King Maize.” There was a long silence before “I’ll explain over dinner.”    


“Thanks. I seem to have to punch a face in to get basic directions around here.” He laughed again, the rumble warming her chest. Oh…. _ oh…...oh no. _ She could see it. Crap. She was  _ supposed  _ to be competing with this guy for Blake not…. “You...have a nice laugh” She admitted. His response to that was to thank her and to drop his tired head to bury into her shoulder. The blondes both blushed guiltily, thinking of the brunette that waited back at the school. 


	24. The truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.......I would like to apologize. This story is going on Hiatus for a bit (as in I'm actually putting up the hiatus note instead of just not updating for 2 months) The reason is, for once, NOT depre....well, it *is* depression but....It's gearing up to Semester's end and I have loads of work to submit because depression made me not pay attention for a week and ADHD plus remote learning did the rest-so like 4 homeworks and 2 projects and work is getting crazy and I've got JPNR 'week' to finish, WhumpTober, A Fix it Fic for Supernatural cause I may have been out of the fandom for 6 years but ***GODS*** was that Heinous, and-OH RIGHT, a secret Santa. I will hopefully be back in January. Sorry. I'm like, the physical representation of a #*mess*. So I leave you.....with this cliffhanger.....cause I'm evil. Bye.

It had been important.    
  
It had been important….   
  
It had been  **_important_ **   
  
And yet….he’d waited almost a week. He wasn’t….The note had said that they were alive. But they were alive at the time she’d  _ given  _ him this. And it had been a  _ while _ ago. And he hadn’t watched it yet...and it was important. But….Oscar gave a shaky sigh as he tried to work up the courage to….to….it had been important. But saying ‘alive’ hinted that the contexts of the video implied otherwise...and he didn’t think he could handle even the  _ implication _ …..that being said, at the same time, whatever was  _ on _ the scroll was so devastatingly important that Penny had risked...well, he didn’t know  **_what_ ** would happen to her for disobeying the General’s orders….but he knew it wasn’t  _ good _ ….and it had been  **important** .

…………   
  
He was scared   
  
Oscar gave a sigh as he at least admitted that much to himself. He was  _ terrified _ about the details of what was on the highly classified video. He was terrified that, as much as he  _ wanted _ to trust James Ironwood, the man was keeping secrets from them. Granted...they were keeping secrets from  _ him _ but still….Jinn’s last question. If he knew about it….he’d waste it with information they already knew. How to destroy Salem…..impossible…..she was immortal. She was an endless enemy attacking the world with the calm assurance that she’d win no matter what….mostly because she had time-the thing everyone else was always running out of. She could destroy the world with patience alone…..and now she had-dangling in the balance- the people that had swiftly come to mean the most to him. She was going to hurt them…..and Ironwood knew something  _ else _ about it…..something that Penny had deemed it important for him to know. 

Whatever it was…..Ironwood had taken measures as to make sure she couldn’t tell him. He’d started doing periodic checks himself. He sent in Winter or members of teams FNKI and CRDL. Though…..CRDL didn’t seem to know why he was important. Dove usually just read with him or did his homework with him. Sky dragged him into knitting, though, by the haunted look in the older boy’s eyes and the forced smile….knitting was more for the Blunette. Whatever had happened to that team, it left them all jerky and jumpy. Russel never stopped moving, even for a second. He hadn’t met the elusive ‘C’ of the group, but he knew from Russel that the boy was usually down in Mantle with his aunt. …..and ‘Aunt’ was a tough thing to think about. He’d just walked out on her, puppeted by the voice in his head. She must have been so scared.    
  
He stopped for a moment, thinking of Aunt Em. She was…. _ amazing.  _ Her brother and sister in law had been killed coming to visit her because they’d been worried about a nearby Grimm attack. She had told them that she was fine...they still persisted….and so were found by the Grimm that hadn’t actually  _ left _ . And she went out armed with a  _ garden hoe _ to go on the fool’s errand of trying to find a survivor. Her nephew, eight at the time, had been unharmed, and hiding in the forest. It had been a week without food when she found him and took him home. She was all he had…….and he’d  _ left _ in the night. Without so much as a goodbye. He was dead for all she knew….. _ she _ was dead for all  **he** knew. And he’d let some fucking  _ voice  _ lead him away from the woman that meant everything to him. And he’d gotten attached to new people….new people that were missing or dead because of him. Oz had said that he went into a similar soul...was the death and despair that followed them like a plague the ‘similarity’ about them? That everyone they cared about….they were a curse too? How many students had Ozpin got attached to before sending them to their deaths? ...not even Oz. It was a  _ merging _ of the soul. How many bodies had Ozma gone through? How many lives had he touched and destroyed? Was he a harbinger of death? Oscar forced out a deep breath, then focused on the here and now. Not the regrets he was swiftly gaining. It was funny. As much pain as he was in now...when he untimely turned  _ into _ Ozma...with a different name, he’d gain even more. Lifetimes upon lifetimes of regret for a useless fight and the destroyed masses.    
  
Oscar looked down at the scroll in his hands. Penny had done  _ something  _ to it so that it wasn’t being picked up by the communication tower. While it meant he couldn’t call, it also meant that Ironwood couldn’t spy on him through it. Hilariously, it had only been an hour after the worm had taken effect that James had come by and asked how he was and if there was anything he could do to calm the boy down. True to form, James hadn’t used his name. Oscar had shrugged and said that he was okay with sniffles that were only half fake. After all, if he couldn’t get in contact with Ruby and the others, distance could easily be reasoned. And he had no one else he would have  _ tried  _ to call. FNKI tended to stop by his dorm room, as did Winter, Penny, and the General. Penny had been so secretive...and  _ now _ she was run so ragged that she didn’t have a moment to...well, she didn’t  _ need  _ to breathe, but the sentiment still stood. Was she being punished? Oscar sat in the bathroom. Ren’s scroll still told time, was still connected. It was 3 in the morning. Everyone really  **_should_ ** be asleep. But….but he’d wanted so badly to  _ trust  _ Ironwood….and Oz was nowhere to be found, hiding. He’d thought the man was gone at first, but no... he was hiding. Oscar could feel  _ him _ , a faint sense of disapproval in the fact that they were being spied on since they’d arrived. He’d thought it was his own thoughts before but it was….to  _ familiar  _ with James. The bathroom was empty with no chance of anyone entering but he was still….worried. Towels had been shoved under both doors and in the vent to make  _ sure _ he wasn’t being watched. He checked his headphones again before taking a shaky breath and pressing ‘play’ on the five minute video. 

* * *

  
  


The General was leaned against his desk, head in his hands. The large holographic map was still high in the room. The door opened and the AceOps filed in, looking worn. Clover especially looked... _ rough _ . The easy confidence in his stride was gone as he sagged. It was no big secret that he wasn’t taking the disappearance well. The defeated way he moved, the despair in the curve of his back and the exhaustion in the bags under his eyes were only visual reminders. Elm subtly let him lean on her. Winter was already in the room and judging by the fact that she was looking at the window, this was probably right when Weiss left with the others...almost two weeks ago. Oscar wondered where Penny was before he realized that the whole room was in  _ her  _ perspective. 

“Callows” James growled out. Then his eyes narrowed and he started to pace the room. “Can someone please explain to me why he’s not already dead? How many times did various governments have him in custody? How does he always  **_get out!?_ ** ” The Aces in the room all looked away from the livid cyborg as he slammed his arm onto the table hard enough to cause a dent. “He’s  _ far  _ too close to Salem. And now...he has Qrow.” James sighed heavily, the anger in his body being drained with the breath and an almost defeated look settling in his eyes. “Winter” And she saluted. “Show the  _ actual  _ coordinates” The white haired woman was reluctant to leave the window, as if she hoped that her sister would return to safety rather than go on the goose chase to find her friends. But she went to the computer in the corner and typed in a few keys. At once, the holographic map changed. Before it looked like Tyrian had dragged the signals as far east as they would go before cutting out, as if he’d dragged them around the ocean and to Vacuo. Now….now it showed that he’d taken them west...and…. _ north?  _ That was….nothing. Just an uninhabited continent overrun by Grimm. 

“General?” All eyes in the room turned to the camera. Penny cleared her throat. “I’ve been monitoring their aura levels. I have the good news that they are alive. I went and backlogged for the last month. I can now see that with the exception of Nora Valkyrie all auras went out exactly seventeen days and fourteen hours ago. It took one and one half hours, during which time Nora gained back a quarter of the aura lost, before Jaune’s aura was suddenly jumped up to %100. It was another thirty minutes before Qrow’s Aura was restored to %100 During the hour and a half gap Qrow managed to restore %10 percent of aura before he was drained of it once again. Qrow and Ren regained full Aura within minutes of one another. Jaune, Nora, and Ren all have maintained Aura over %95 save for one hour each day where their aura is steadily depleted for two hours. With the rate of depletion and the fact that their auras are back to %100 within the third hour it seems like regular combat practice, though they are very bad at it. Qrow has maintained an aura around %2 to %5.” James’ eye twitched as he stood ramrod straight.    
  
“I don’t care about the children.” He said softly. “They’re of no consequence in this situation. They’re  _ children _ . If they die it will be unfortunate but we can move on.” Hare and Vine maintained firm continence at that. Clover... _ maintained _ ...but being as he was already devastated and trying to keep it together, it was impossible to tell if he’d been made much worse by that statement. Elm bit her lip, but took a deep breath and schooled her emotions back to a hardened mask. Marrow visibly recoiled at so much as the words. Oscar was worse. His hand went up to cover his mouth in horror as he choked back a sob. “But  _ Qrow _ ” James continued without pause...oddly, Qrow caused James to have a reaction, he sighed, the weariness settling harder on his shoulders. He slumped slightly, losing the ability to stand as straight as he normally did. “Qrow is aware of the location of the relics  _ and _ of the current Maidens of Summer and Winter. No one knows Spring, but  _ she _ will be here within a few days and armed with Cinder if she learns about Fria. Ozpin trusted him. And as much as I trust him...I _ know _ more than anyone else of his weaknesses. If his aura is that low, he’s likely being tortured and the  _ second _ she learns about Ruby, Yang, or Taiang…..even  _ Raven.  _ She’ll capture them and use them as leverage against him. He’ll break and tell her everything, if he hasn’t for some alcohol by this point. He uses it to numb his own guilt at the pain his semblance causes” Oscar frowned. James Ironwood was a busy man so he may have missed the sober thing. Winter hadn’t, her mouth was open as if she was going to correct him but...she may have thought better of it, clamping her mouth shut and retreating further into her corner. “Qrow is the biggest problem. And you five, are the best Huntsmen in Atlas. So I’m giving you the mission. Find him.  _ Track  _ him down.”    
  
“Bring him back?” James frowned, maybe at the amount of hope that had bled into Clover’s tone. The General gave a deep sigh, but was quiet.  _ Too  _ quiet. It was horrifying, watching someone’s heart shatter on a video. As Clover crumbled, Elm gave up on all pretense, taking her slightly shorter leader into her arms to support him with a hug. He turned in her arms, letting out his agony quietly into her shirt as she rubbed his back. To give the general the tiniest bit of credit, James Ironwood was  _ trembling _ from the force of the order he was about to give. A single tear escaped steel blue eyes as his mouth opened. He sounded strained, as if someone were physically assaulting his vocal chords as he spoke, voice ripped to shreds and run ragged.    
  
“We _ can’t _ let Salem get the information he has. If we’re lucky he hasn’t broken yet. That being said...she took him for a reason. She knows that he has information that can win this war for her. We have to knock her back to square one. Make sure that she doesn’t even know any of Oz’s agents. Find Qrow and….” He choked back a sob for his oldest friend, for the lost love he’d pushed towards the young captain, torso twisting in on itself as he failed to stay upright long enough to even  _ think  _ the world let alone say it, mind haunted by old memories of the man he’d had to let go of for his career. As he tried more to force himself...it worked less and less. His hand had to come and cover his mouth as he almost vomited from the stress and anguish of what had to be done, holding onto his dented desk for support. Winter moved from her spot by the computer to rub at his back in an attempt to calm him.    
  
“We understand our orders sir” Hare’s voice rang out like a shot, clear and calm and clean. “That being said” And Magenta eyes darted over to Elm and Clover, softening slightly. “ _ If _ on the off chance we find him and it’s not as you think?” James nodded harshly. If there was no danger then there was no reason Qrow should die. The general even managed a tight though genuine smile in her direction. Hare would keep the mission on track he knew. It was just….   
  
“Clover.” And the brunette looked up. “If you wished to….to  _ abstain,  _ to place Hare in charge. Stay behind and provide extra protection for the Relic and the new Oz.” But his words were cut off by the fierce shake of the head from the Unit leader. Clover deserved a damn  _ award  _ for the way he smothered his emotions down. He was twitching slightly from the effort, and though tear tracks lined his cheeks, his eyes had stopped producing tears at an astounding speed as he forced himself to stand on his own. 

“Sir. We both know I’m needed for this mission. With my semblance….” Clover took a deep breath and strengthened his resolve. “We’re going to find all of them and bring them back. Bring  _ Qrow  _ back….Alive. I’ll work as hard as I can.” James’ eyes softened. He wasn’t sure if even  _ Clover’s  _ semblance could somehow make it so that the harbinger of bad luck hadn’t had the worst  _ possible  _ thing happen to him. James crossed to clap him on the shoulder.    
  
“And if the worst  _ has  _ happened? Are you able to give that order soldier?” Clover took a deep breath, sea foam hardening into a storm. 

“No. I’d handle it myself. I know how Qrow fights. The only other one able to take him would be Hare, and she’s too rough. I can do it quickly and painlessly. He’d want me to protect his nieces more than anything.” James nodded, satisfied by the loyalty and in the knowledge that his faith wasn’t misplaced. 

  
“Go get packed.” He ordered. “The girls have to be far away or they’ll turn and follow. You leave first thing in the morning. Be prepared for anything from an endless horde of Grimm to Salem herself.” Ironwood sighed deeply, then walked up to Penny. “Miss Polendina?”    
  
“Yes sir?” 

“Team RWBY is still in range of you.” The camera flicked to the floor as she looked away. “You are to tell  _ no one  _ of this meeting. Access code- XJH7-493Y. Maximum security.” A sniff.    
  
“Can I not even tell my father why my mood has destabilized?” James’s eyes softened slightly. 

“You must wait two days to tell, only your _ friends  _ any potentially upsetting or sensitive information. Including what has just transpired in this meeting or the status of Qrow or Team JNR. That is a direct order. Access code- XJH7-493Y. Maximum security. After two days feel free to tell  _ only  _ your friends.” After two days, her friends would all be in Vacuo of course. “However, you  _ are  _ allowed to share non descriptive details with your father on the status of your emotional state.” The cameras jerked in a way that indicated Penny had just let out a short bow, then the transmission cut off. And Oscar stared in amazement at the intelligence of the girl that hadn’t  _ told _ him anything….the one who had made him confirm she was a friend...and then go through a backdoor on  _ top  _ of it. 

His blood went cold. Find and kill Qrow, who with his bad luck was almost  _ definitely  _ too far gone. That was why his aura was so low. He was being tortured to death for information. And if he gave it up….if he broke down….Salem already  _ wanted _ Ruby. She’d sent Tyrian after her. He’d been told about the encounter on the gang’s way to Mistral. Which meant…..Qrow had already gotten hurt by Tyrian. The thought occurred to him that Tyrian was there  **_taunting_ ** him. Luckily Ruby was on the opposite side of the world right now. But….but he’d tracked her before. What if….what if 

Oscar couldn’t breathe. And there were no windows in the actual room. He hadn’t noticed it at first. It made sense in retrospect. Three huntsmen to protect the relic and the holder of said relic. No one too know they were there except the people that had been given permission. It hadn’t bothered him before. …. Before….. He couldn’t. He  _ couldn’t _ . The room was pitching under his feet and he threw the door open. Relic and damning scrolls all left inside as he rushed out…..and instantly got stopped via slamming into a  _ MOUNTAIN.  _

* * *

_   
_ _   
_ “You alright?” Oscar couldn’t really  _ process _ the voice, save that it was male. He was having issues seeing too. He was sobbing, maybe that was where the breathing issues were coming from. He was sobbing so hard he couldn’t breathe. He was picked up. He was only  _ vaguely  _ aware of the fact that he was being moved. He sobbed until there was nothing left, until he was thirsty and his throat was raw and his head was spinning. He blinked, hazel eyes clearing as he registered that he was leaning against a pair of dust colored pajamas. “Better?” He asked. Oscar blinked, realizing he was outside and the older boy was rubbing at his back. 

“Why?…..Who?.....What?....Where?”

  
“In reverse order. You’re outside because you had a nightmare and you ran….as far as almost knocking me over. I _took_ you outside cause I was on my way to Mantle. I’m Cardin and….” He paused. “I guess I answered in the wrong order. Did I miss anything? Oh that what. Um…..nightmares…...they’re common.” He frowned. “I think I said that one already. Either way you were freaking out so…..” He shrugged. He had a weird nonchalant way of speaking, as if nothing bothered him, though his hand was still rubbing in calming circles. “Wanna talk about it?” And _that_ sounded vaguely uncomfortable. Like he was pushing through to ask a question he either didn’t want the answer too or already knew what the answer was. But Oscar was stuck on the name…. _Cardin_   
  
“You’re the leader of team CRDL” He voiced it because...well, he was starting to doubt the man actually existed. Cardin blinked once, twice.   
  
“Oh yeah…..are you my mental detail that the others take care of?” He asked, hand scratching at his hair. “Cause you are _so_ much better with the others. I am…..a mess. I mean. We’re _all_ messes but...I’m the mess that regularly goes down to Mantle at two and three in the morning just to hug my aunt so.” There was…..a _lot_ to unpack there.   
  
“What do you mean by ‘mental detail’?” He had a _lot_ of questions, but that one was important. It may explain why he was being checked up on. … Especially since Cardin’s wince indicated he was probably not supposed to have said what he’d said.   
  
“That’s what I call it.” He rolled his eyes. “Basically everyone traumatized by the Fall of Beacon gets random people dropping in to make sure they’re not gonna go crazy and kill themselves. It’s worded um….” He paused. Thinking. “A reassessment of your current situation to affirm the space where you currently exist.” Oscar gave him a blank look at that. “They tell a team to bother you so you have friends. It’s usually FNKI but you were extra traumatized….odd since I can’t remember seeing you at school...but there _were_ a few sibling civis there. Anyways, it helps make us feel less useless and hopeless so my team got assigned you.” A beat “It’s stupid...for us I mean. Sky, Russ, and I talk to my Aunt’s coworker. She was gonna be a social worker but my aunt makes her feel more important. And Dove just went to the therapist he already _had_ in Atlas. The sessions got interrupted by his moving to Vale for school.” Oscar nodded. That almost sounded logical. No wonder they didn’t have questions about who he was.   
  
“How were you getting to Mantle this late?” As far as questions go...that’s nowhere near the _most_ important. But with everything that he’d just learned. With all the thoughts swirling in his head. With how horrible _EVERYTHING_ has decided to be all of a sudden…..that’s the only question he can ask that doesn’t make him dry heave, that doesn’t make panic settle in his lungs, that lets his continue breathing. Cardin scoffs at it too.   
  
“I have a good landing strategy.” And…..that made no sense. Landing Strategies were for thirty to fifty yards high. ……. It was about a mile and a half from Atlas to Mantle. The confusion must have shown on his face cause Cardin grinned. “I have a _Very_ good Landing strategy. I can teach you if you’d like.” And Oscar froze. Because with the terror gripping his soul at the moment…..that sounded like the best idea ever.


End file.
